Lots of people keep saying how unique Growing Up in the West Midlands is so it seems high time to explore in a bit more depth what it is that makes it what it is, and what learning can be taken from that. Of course it's not all perfect or all that it could be or might grow to be, but we do seem to have something worth having more of a look at.

Here are some of my personal thoughts that I hope might trigger some discussion and support our learning and the sharing of that learning. When I talk about learning I mean looking at the principles and processes that underlie the steps that were taken, not creating a template for mass reproduction.

I think nobody expresses the attitude to sharing practice better than the cookery writer Nigel Slater as he introduces his recipe-free cookery book:

I believe a recipe shoud be treated as a living thing, something allowed to breathe, the change its nature to suit our ingredients, our mood, our desires.

So with this in mind, some of what follows is partly descriptive, but also includes a bit of a look at some of the thinking, the understanding and values that have been at the core of what's been done.

What is Growing Up in the West Midlands?

A vision

Our work has been guided by a clear vision that has been articulated at every opportunity. We exist to develop the West Midlands as a region that respects and acts upon the needs, interests and aspirations of children and young people, and the voluntary and community organisations that work with them.

An ethos

There are some core values that frame the work of Growing Up in the West Midlands. Underpinning these is a commitment to democracy and mutuality.

our work is driven by and embedded in a shared aim to:

• connect and cooperate
• include and expand
• exchange and develop

In principle, and as far as is possible in practice, we operate in an a way that is open, fair and flexible. This doesn't mean everybody does everything - we strive towards clearly defined roles and responsibilites and depend upon trust. Grand words indeed, so perhaps it's worht reinforcing what is said here by a look at our structures and processes.

A structure

[Thanks to Stephen Quashie for creating this illustration. You can click on the picture to get a bigger version]

Growing Up in the West Midlands developed the above structure to preserve its democratic ethos in the delivery of the money it received through Change Up in September 2005.

The Strategic forum brings together,  in a loose affiliation, representatives of organisations and networks in the region that work with children and young people, or support their interests. These are mostly, but not exclusively voluntary and community organisations.

A project management team comprising representatives of the regional NCVCCO network, the West Midlands Voluntary Youth Sector Forum (WMVYSF), the accountable body, the Youth Involvement Project worker, and others to represent the diversity of children's and young people's voluntary and community organisations within the region, sits at the core of the Strategic Forum.

Delivery groups look after the delivery of specific streams of work. All are tied back to the management group. Two of the delivery areas are looked after by existing networks - NCVCCO and WMVYSF. Two delivery areas come directly under the remit of the Managment Group, as well as project evaluation. Four further delivery groups have been formed specially for project delivery and each comprises represntatives from the Strategic Forum and a Management Group member. each delivery has a set of outcomes and a budget and is reposnible for defining and commissioning their own work. Management Group support ensures the delivery areas support each other and together create a coherent whole.

A collection of people, organisations and networks

We start from the notion that the mere fact of working in a group does not necessarily result in collaborative work. Our group strives to be inclusive and flexible and works hard to be so. Its boundaries are ever moving, changing to accommodate new people with different needs and interests and representing different sorts of organisations and communities. Everybody working towards our vision and willing to share our ethos (not necessarily our opinions) is welcome to participate in a way that is of mutual benefit. I think we've got a sense of something that people feel a part of, but without building that sense of belonging by creating those who do not belong. This might be to do with how we define the group - its fluidity and its focus around a shared vision and some shared principles rather than around any other similarity. Being part of Growing Up in the West Midlands doesn't mean leaving your own identity or way of working at the door and becoming part of some homogenous mass. It means signing up to a way of being together and working towards a shared vision.

Importanty the group and its members have worked hard to overcome traditional divisions. Our strength is in our breadth and we all know that we are benefiting from resources because of it. Our organisations are of different sizes, work with children and young people of different ages, with different needs and from different communities, are from across the region, and belong (or don't) to other key networks, and deliver a wide range of different services. We think strategically and look beyond barriers to cooperation seeking to identify and demonstrate what can be done together. We also have an active programme of outreach to support our continued growth.

Significantly we have worked to build on what already exists to strengthen and draw strength from existing networks and organisations and to focus our efforts on the things that can only be achieved through collaboration, and that bring added value for all.

A process

Well we've done some odd things- cracker pulling and animation filming to name but two - but these things are just techniques. Our underlying process has been to work in a way that supports the values we seek to promote. We've tried as best we can to put our money where our mouth is. Not because this is laudible (though incidently I hapen to think it is) but because it's the only way it can work. Every aspect of the work must support the broader intentions of the project. From writinng funding bids, to deciding commissioning principles we've worked to reflect but not appropriate the experiences and needs of others. this has been based on conversation, research and observation, not presumption. We've sought to value and consider each person and organisation individually, but within the context of the group and the region's wider interests. We foster a sense of mutual dependency and mutual gain.

Ours is an ongoing reflective practice and one in which we strive to live up to what we are promoting and to share ideas and values through shared experience. It is not, however, a neutral process. The things we do are particular to the situation and to the individuals involved and those that are driving things forward.

Our approach is also multi layered - operating simultaneously on a number of levels to address the need for change be it structural, political, interactional, ideological...

A product

That might all sound quite lofty or floaty, but this whole process is firmly grounded, and I'd go as far to say dependent on, some good old fashioned concrete action.

It wasn't our explicit intent but it seems there is a clear pattern in the work we are developing as a group. The Strategic Forum (driven by the management group and supported by the developing technology) is at the core of everything. On top of this are a number of focused elements of work (linked broadly to the delivery areas) that work along the following lines

1. research - look at what's being done and involve relevant people
2. pilot - try things out by helping some groups to develop their own practice
3. product - produce something to help share the learning
4. share - share the learning within our group and with second tier organisations who can use it to support their work locally

Our use of the creative commons licence underpins this ethos of sharing and development. We believe that by adopting this model we are making the most out of regional working to be strategic and draw widely from expertise and share learning broadly. It is also geared around improving the impact and efficiency of local delivery.

In the current phase of work we will be producing what could be drawn together as a formidable toolkit for local infrastructure organisations. It will cover such issues as outreach, children's trusts, local area agreements, sustainable funding, safeguarding, extended schools, communications, participation, governance... It will provide information, support, tools, techniques and models, practical things (e.g. build your own website DVD) and opportnities to re-engage at a regional level to gain the backing and services needed to support its effective use. Increasingly I'm starting to think this is what we should be looking to produce.

Moving forward

This sort of work forward is dependent on a group of people who have an understanding of what it is that's to be done and the context; an understanding of process and techniques that support that; and practical experience in different situations.

Techniques may be taught and principles shared, but individuals and groups need to find their own way of being and working, and their own way of revisiting and revising this.

To end I go back to Nigel Slater:

Each egg, each steak, each potato is different and will behave differently in the pan. That's what cooking is about, and that's why it is essential to understand what you are doing rather than just mindlessly following a recipe.