Youth Unemployment

in Northern Ireland:
APPLYING A SOCIAL INNOVATION LENS

FINAL REPORT OF A MULTI-STAKEHOLDER KNOWLEDGE

EXCHANGE & IDEA GENERATION PROCESS
 Contents
Foreword 03

1.0
Acknowledgements 04

2.0
About the Authors 04

3.0 About the Organisations 05

4.0 Summary 06

5.0 The Knowledge Exchange Process 09

5.1 Background

5.2 Phase 1: Stakeholders

5.3 Phase 2: Best Practice

5.4 Phase 3: thinc process

6.0 Ideas Developed and Prototyped 20

7.0 What Could We Do Differently? 24

8.0 Concluding Remarks and Lessons Learned 25

Bibliography 26

Appendices: 27

Appendix 1: Stakeholder Engagement

in ‘thinc’ Workshops

Appendix 2: KEP Survey Analysis

Appendix 3: Glossary of Terms

2 Youth Unemployment in Northern Ireland: Applying a Social Innovation Lens

Foreword
Foreword
I’ve seen how changes in thinking
patterns can have extraordinary
results, results that challenge the
injustice of disadvantage, and that
underline our need to listen’
(Blandford 2017:21)
The above quote by Sonia Blandford,
Professor of Education (University
College London) and Founder and CEO of
Achievement For All, demonstrates that a
shift in thinking is required to achieve new
and different results. The Social Innovation
Knowledge Exchange Programme is a
flagship intervention supported through
Building Change Trust’s Social Innovation
Northern Ireland initiative. The Programme
began in June 2017 and was a partnership
between Work West in Belfast and
Enterprise North West in Derry.
There has been extensive research
undertaken locally, regionally and
internationally into the challenges
surrounding youth unemployment.
This report details fresh insights gathered
across the third sector about the challenges
facing 16-18 year olds seeking employment.
The Knowledge Exchange Programme
seeks to explore potential new socially
innovative solutions as to ‘How might
we improve employment opportunities
for 16-18 year olds in Northern Ireland’.
As the title of the programme suggests
‘Knowledge Exchange’ was central to the
outcomes sought throughout the process.
The approach and methodology adopted
were based on collectively agreeing and
refining the challenge and developing a
series of innovative ideas and interventions
that might tackle this challenge. Design
and creative thinking methodologies
(Work West’s ‘thinc’ process) were used
throughout the programme.
Three opportunities for knowledge
exchange were embedded in the process
used by the team i) international knowledge
exchange through the use of case studies
ii) knowledge exchange across Northern
Ireland through delivery in Belfast and the
North West and iii) knowledge exchange
among participants through facilitated
workshops and a final event.
Our research revealed that there is a clear
need for a more coordinated approach
across funders and service providers to
enhance employability outcomes for 16-18
year olds. Participants could see the benefits
of a collaborative working approach to bring
ideas forward but the mechanism to do this
does not currently exist.
In this report we share our findings of the
programme which highlight the competitive
nature of the marketplace in which the
stakeholders operate. It also takes into
account the challenges associated with the
collaboration required across organisations
that support this age group. The design
thinking process used is flexible and there
is potential for it to be used across a range
of sectors to develop new solutions to old
problems and challenges.
Claire Ferris, Work West
Youth Unemployment in Northern Ireland: Applying a Social Innovation Lens 3
Northern Ireland is facing a series of chronic
challenges that impinge on the long-term
prosperity and wellbeing of its citizens.
Since 2014 the Trust has been investing
in social innovation programmes and
processes that can equip the VCSE sector
and others to grapple with these challenges
and identify new solutions. We have already
supported a wide range of innovative ideas
through our Techies in Residence and Social
Innovation Skills programmes. However
finding discreet solutions to individual
elements of social challenges is not enough
to achieve the systemic change needed.
Collaboration amongst many stakeholders
and across sectors is crucial if we are to
make a serious dent in chronic challenges
like youth unemployment. The Knowledge
Exchange Programme was conceived by
the Trust and Work West to do just this
– provide the time, space and process
to allow multiple organisations to come
together, look at the problem of youth
unemployment as a whole and develop
new solutions that cross organisational and
sectoral boundaries. We believe the results
are very encouraging, both in terms of the
specific ideas developed and as a testing of
the process which has enormous potential
for replication across other similarly complex
social challenges.
Paul Braithwaite, Building Change Trust
 2.0 About
1.0 Acknowledgements the Authors

Acknowledgements About the Authors

The authors wish to acknowledge the team who led the project, the stakeholders who
contributed to it and the participants who engaged in the intensive process of workshops
in Belfast and the North West and who committed to the process from start to finish.

ORGANISATION NAME
Active Communities Network Mark Copeland
An Munia Tober Eamonn Donnelly Patricia Flanagan
Ashton Community Trust/ Fablabs Adam Wallace Patricia works with Work West as the
Belfast City Council Jonathan Twinem / Sinead O’Regan lead on all design thinking initiatives and
Belfast Health & Social Care Trust Yvonne Cowan has over 25 years’ experience working in
Belfast Met Heather Hedley/ Mary Coffey the Enterprise and Education sectors in
Northern Ireland. Since a visit to Stanford
Bright Owl Solutions Alison McCaw
University in 2010 Patricia has worked
Bryson Charitable Group John McMullan
exclusively in Design Thinking and Creative
Department for the Economy Roisin Sloan Problem Solving. Her primary focus is
Department for the Economy (ESF) Fiona White on developing design-thinking/creative
Department for the Economy (United Youth) Anne McCready problem solving approaches to stimulate
ECL Elaine Taggart / Gerard Fox innovation. Patricia is a specialist facilitator
Fermanagh Trust Lauri McCusker and frequently delivers to school pupils,
students, teaching staff, businesses and the
Footprints Womens Centre Gillian Gibson
third sector.
Gems Aileen Graham
Include Youth (Belfast) Paddy Mooney
Leafair Karyn Cunningham
NEETS forum Lorraine Boyd
North Down Community Network Louise Little
North West Migrant Forum Louise Moorhead
North West Regional College Stephen Sheridan
Now Group Pauline Fitzsimmons
Okey Dokey design Joe Conere
Princes Trust (Belfast) Orla Major Michelle Dolan
As ‘Design Thinc-er in residence’ at Work
Princes Trust (North West) Sharon Doherty
West, Michelle is responsible for the
Resurgam Trust Denis Paisley co-delivery of design thinking workshops
Sandy Row Community Forum Glenda Davies and the development of the materials
School Principal Tom Armstrong used in the ‘thinc process’. Her BA in
Skills 2020 Oonagh Quigg Visual Communication provides her with a
Springboard Angila Chada grounding in creative arts and theory. She
worked in creative media prior to assuming
Springvale Learning Mary McGurk
a role within the education sector which
Start 360 Anne Marie McClure
enabled her to gain an insight into the
Strabane Enterprise Agency Christina Mullen everyday experiences of students within the
TEAM programme Sean Curran education system. Her recent completion
The 4 R’s Joe Brolly of an MA in Social Anthropology provided
Unltd Nuala Smyth her with the opportunity to develop critical
USEL (Belfast) Bill Atkinson/ Karen Gilgunn research skills.
USEL (North West) Anne Marie O’Hara
Voypic Vivian McConvey
West Belfast Partnership Board Louise Brennan
Whistle Project Teresa Dunlop
Youth Action Emma Johnston

4 Youth Unemployment in Northern Ireland: Applying a Social Innovation Lens


Claire Ferris
For more than twenty-three years Claire
has been working with the third sector
supporting them to set up and grow social
enterprises. Over the past four years Claire
has played a leading role in encouraging
third sector organisations to think differently
about how they deliver services and explore
potential new solutions to longstanding
problems. Claire holds the Queens Award
for Enterprise Promotion and secured the
Social Innovation Leader of the Year Award
at the CO3 awards in 2017.
Stephen McGarry
Stephen is an experienced social enterprise
business advisor, business manager and
evaluator with almost 20 years third sector
experience. Leading the delivery of support
to social enterprises at Work West, Stephen
has also been instrumental in the social
innovation support services developed by
delivering the schools based innovation
programmes and supporting third sector
organisations to embrace and embed
innovative design thinking within their work.
Stephen led a social enterprise consultancy
service for three years developing his
knowledge and skills in evaluations and
social impact.
3.0 About
the Organisations
About the Organisations
Building Change Trust was established
in 2008 by the Big Lottery Fund with a
National Lottery grant of £10million as
an investment for community capacity
building and promotion of the voluntary,
community and social enterprise (VCSE)
sector in Northern Ireland. Social Innovation
has been one of the Trust’s core themes
since 2013 and it has used a combination
of research, grant-making, collaborative co-
design, capacity building programmes and
commissioning to stimulate this new field
of work in Northern Ireland, culminating
in the establishment of Social Innovation
NI in 2016 which it continues to lead
and resource until the Trust’s closure, as
planned, at the end of 2018.
Social Innovation NI is a cross-sectoral
collaboration which aims to make it easier
for those with innovative solutions to social
challenges to access the support they
need to deliver their ideas with impact and
at scale. Since 2016 Social Innovation NI
partners have delivered three cycles of the
Techies in Residence programme, two cycles
of the Social Innovation Skills programmes,
two Social Innovation Seed Funds, two
series of ‘Introduction to Social Innovation’
workshops and two social innovation
festivals, benefitting hundreds of individuals
and organisations across Northern Ireland.
Understanding the value of a different way of thinking
‘I learned the value of thinking differently,
thinking creatively, valuing those thought
processes and making them work’
Youth Unemployment in Northern Ireland: Applying a Social Innovation Lens 5
Work West is an award winning
organisation which supports new start
and existing businesses (both private and
social) to grow their ventures. Work West
has excellent workspace, office space and
training and meeting space spread over
two sites in the heart of West Belfast.
Work West prides itself on its innovative
approach to stimulating enterprise. Over
the past three years Work West has
developed an award winning new model of
entrepreneurship which has design thinking
at the fore.
Enterprise North West (ENW) is a non-
profit organisation that was established
in 1989 as the result of an Industrial
Development Board/Derry Civic Group
Initiative. Since inception ENW has earned
the reputation as being a key player in
economic and enterprise development
within the small business sector through
the provision of a varied range of services
and a solid blend of professionalism
and service tailored to their customers’
requirements. It has striven to encourage
locally based firms to achieve improved
performance, a better sense of customer
awareness, and forge stronger links with
industry at home and abroad.
 4.0 Summary
The Northern Ireland Assembly does not routinely publish NEET figures and therefore there is ambiguity around
exact NEET figures in Northern Ireland. In 2013, an estimate of the number of people who were NEET was
produced by adding together the number of economically inactive and unemployed 16-24 year olds. In Quarter
1 2013, approximately 19% of 16-24 year olds were NEET in Northern Ireland (Powell, 2018:9). The desktop
research and stakeholder consultation conducted by Work West as part of the knowledge exchange programme
highlighted the confusion surrounding NEET statistics, the high number of providers supporting NEETs and the
limited collaboration and cohesion between these service providers.
It became apparent that there was an urgent need for an alternative approach to reimagine solutions to this
complex social challenge.

The aim of this report is:

1 to provide a detailed overview of how 2 to make visible the successes and 3 to share the ideas generated through
a design thinking process was applied challenges experienced along this the process as a ‘call to action’
for the first time in Northern Ireland in journey.
a ‘Knowledge Exchange Programme’

This report details how organisations based in Northern Ireland collaborated, assessed and
reimagined the ways in which they support 16-18 year olds into employment. It also highlights
the key findings and the prototyped ideas developed by teams of committed providers who
support young people in the employability sector. It is fundamentally a ‘call to action’.

Six concepts were proposed by the programme participants as follows:

Concept 1: Concept 2: Concept 3:

‘The Middle Man’ or ‘The Connector’ App
Providers of services to any NEETS
person simplify the pathway for the young
people by cooperating and sharing all
their information centrally. That collective
information should then be built into an
easy to navigate app.
The Hub (dedicated service centre for
young people)
Create both a virtual and a physical hub
building. The building, inspired by Google
HQ, will create an atmosphere welcoming
to the young people, and be dedicated to
help improve the lives and opportunities
of young people.
Innovation Centre in the school
Establish a physical space inside schools
as a space and place for creativity and
innovation activities, where all the
children in the school will have the
freedom to experiment and develop
their own creative thinking.

6 Youth Unemployment in Northern Ireland: Applying a Social Innovation Lens

Concept 4:
The Term ‘NEETS’ to be abolished and
replaced with ‘Innoventeurs’
This will help to destigmatise the
young people and help providers see
these young people as individuals with
individual training needs and not as a
single problem group for education
and training providers.
Concept 5:
Tailored support system for the individual
Establish a new tailored support
programme for every young person,
which would involve all service providers
effectively sharing their information with
each other to help the young person
identify clear pathways and eliminate
duplication of provision.
Concept 6:
Campus of Dreams (school and multi-
functional after-hours space)
The ‘Campus of Dreams’ will be a centre
within the community. It will bring
together, in a carefully facilitated way, a
group of interested stakeholders in an
area who are totally committed to using
new methods and approaches to raising
the aspirations and achievements of
these young people and use a school
for community activities and to
build relationships.

Throughout the programme the Work West ‘thinc’ process was used with
the following thinking principles introduced and reiterated frequently:
1. Be open to developing a new mindset
2. Defer judgement and support your team mates
3. Listen and learn
4. Be present both physically and mentally
5. Say ‘yes and’
6. Engage both divergent and convergent thinking
7. Empathise with the end user

The Knowledge Exchange Programme consisted of three key phases:

PHASE 1. Stakeholder Mapping: PHASE 2. Best Practice: PHASE 3. ‘thinc’ Process:

Mapping and identification of ‘can do’
stakeholders supporting 16-18 year olds to
find employment across Northern Ireland
Identification of six models of local
and international good practice where
social innovators have delivered tangible
outcomes for improving employability for
16-18 year olds
Participation in a design thinking
programme and learning how to use
the process

PHASE 1: Stakeholder Mapping PHASE 2: Best Practice PHASE 3: ‘thinc’ Process

Over a three month period extensive
mapping and consultation was
undertaken to identify key ‘can do’
stakeholders currently supporting 16-18
year olds to find employment across
Northern Ireland. The mapping exercise
enabled the team to gain a greater
understanding of the key challenges
facing these organisations in their pursuit
to support this group of young people.
Research was carried out to identify six
local and international case studies where
organisations had adopted innovative
approaches to improve the lives of young
people facing employment challenges
and to facilitate full knowledge exchange
at an international level.
This part of the programme was designed
as six half day sessions delivered to two
groups, one in Belfast and one in Derry
to facilitate full knowledge exchange
both regionally and at a local level. A final
full day session was then held where
participants from Belfast and Derry had
the opportunity to meet.

Youth Unemployment in Northern Ireland: Applying a Social Innovation Lens 7

 PHASE 3: ‘thinc’ Process continued
The focus of each workshop was as follows:
Workshop 1: Introducing a New
Way of Thinking
Teams were facilitated to share their
individual insights and knowledge as
experts on the challenge. Participants were
introduced to a methodology for gathering
insights in the field which focused to a
large extent on encouraging story-telling,
listening, eliciting feelings and emotions
and completely avoided ‘closed’ questions.
Workshop 2: Sharing Insights
The time between workshops one and
two was two weeks to allow participants
to gather insights. Participants shared
their insights from their field research and
created a ‘wall of stories’ from those they
had spoken to. They analysed their insights
and observations, identified core themes
and ‘pain points’ that were emerging.
8 Youth Unemployment in Northern Ireland: Applying a Social Innovation Lens
Workshop 3: Define the Challenge
Between workshops two and three an
online tool to profile thinking preferences
(FourSight) was sent to participants. The
profiles were shared with the groups and the
teams were restructured. A visual journey
was developed for each cohort and the
cohorts identified thirteen key themes.
Each team was allocated themes and asked
to share their understanding of how this
theme impacted on the young people.
Teams generated a long list of potentially
actionable ‘How Might We’ statements
(hereafter referred to as ‘HMW’ statements).
Workshop 4: Ideation
The workshop began by reviewing all the
‘HMW’ statements with participants then
voting for the statements which they had
a passion to take forward and ideate on
to create imaginative solutions. In the
ideation phase teams generated ideas using
divergent thinking and the cohorts were
encouraged to consider ‘wild ideas’ and
then find the best ways to either solve or
‘get around’ the problem.
The challenges one faces on the creative route
‘I wish there was more talk of the vulnerability
of being creative and the loneliness of it’
Workshop 5: Further Ideation and
Concepts
Workshop five was a further ‘dive’ into
ideation using creative thinking exercises
and additional ideation tools. Teams utilised
an evaluation tool to select their strongest
ideas to take to the next stage. Convergent
thinking tools were then introduced to
help refine, build and present their
chosen concept(s).
Workshop 6: Storyboard and
Prototype
Teams selected and agreed their strongest
concept and completed a storyboard. They
then produced a prototype i.e. a basic, scaled
down version of the product or service built
using inexpensive materials. Participants were
encouraged to test their proposed solutions
with their end users.
Workshop 7: Knowledge Exchange
Workshop seven provided the first
opportunity for the promotion of knowledge
exchange across the two cohorts and for
them to meet and effectively ‘show and tell’.
Teams were reformed and the event offered
a unique opportunity for both groups to
share their solutions and obtain feedback
from their peers. Founder of MADLUG,
Dave Linton, was invited as a guest speaker
to share his journey.
5.0 The Knowledge
Exchange Process
5.1 Background
Work West conducted desk based and primary research, engaging beneficiaries and stakeholders.
This research highlighted that:
1996 > 17%
2016 > 31%
• Since 1996, there has been a large decrease
in the proportion of working age people
with no qualifications across the United
Kingdom. By 2016, less than 10% of
working adults in England, Scotland and
Wales had no qualifications, a reduction of
more than a half. Northern Ireland stood out
as having the highest level of adults with no
qualifications in 1996 (30%) and still having
the highest level in 2016 (16%). Northern
Ireland also had the lowest level of those
with Higher Education qualifications in 1996
with 17% and remained lowest in 2016 at
31% (UK Poverty Report, 2017).
Two key themes emerged from desk research which have a major impact
upon improving outcomes for young people – education and employability.
Education is a statutory obligation.
Young people are leaving school
without the requisite skills
and personal attributes to find
employment, retain a job for the
longer term or start a new venture.
Work West identified that the
theme of ‘Improving employment
opportunities for young people’
was ripe for an innovative and
collaborative knowledge exchange
approach, therefore our delivery
approach focused on this theme.
19% NEET
• 19% of young people aged 16-24 in
Northern Ireland are classified as NEET
(Not in Education, Employment or
Training) (Powell 2018:9).
It became evident through engagement
with both stakeholders and users in
the preparation of the project proposal
that there was a clear need to develop
impactful interventions at the earliest
stage. Research indicated that early
intervention at 16 could make the biggest
difference therefore the theme of ‘improving
employment opportunities for 16-18 year
olds in Northern Ireland’ was selected.
The methodology proposed facilitated
the further examination of the barriers
hindering the employability prospects of
the target group. It was also identified
that this target group experience complex
and challenging issues such as poor mental
health, low confidence and self-esteem and
offending backgrounds which impact upon
their employability.
Youth Unemployment in Northern Ireland: Applying a Social Innovation Lens 9
57th/62
• There are very low levels of entrepreneurial
activity in Belfast. In 2016 the city ranked
57th /62 for business start-ups in the UK
(Centre for Cities 2016).
5.2 PHASE 1: Stakeholders
Central to the approach was the
recruitment of ‘can do’ stakeholders
i.e. people who were eager for
change and willing to experiment
with new and innovative ways to
challenge the status quo. This was
done over a three month period through
extensive mapping and consultation across
Northern Ireland . The mapping exercise
enabled Work West to gain a greater
understanding of the key challenges
facing these organisations in their pursuit
to support this group of young people.
Best practice examples were also sought
in relation to where interventions were
having a positive outcome. These best
practice examples included the Co-Ment
programme developed and delivered by
GEMS, the GOALS programme delivered
by Active Communities Network NI, the
DICE programme delivered by North Down
Community Network and the Youthbank
programme delivered by the Resurgam Trust.
Insights were gathered through meetings
with representatives from forty-two
organisations. These representatives ranged
in levels of authority from Chief Executives
to Youth Workers. Funders were not invited
to participate in the workshop phase of
the programme as it was acknowledged
that this may have limited the openness of
participating third sector organisations. The
following is a summary of the responses
from the stakeholder meetings:
 Summary of the responses from the stakeholder meetings:
What is working/ has worked well?
• Development of a strong personal
relationship between client and mentor
• Community based support followed
by individual tailored support
• Use of sport or other specialist interest
areas to engage 16-18 year olds
• Use of local role models telling their
stories particularly if similar challenges
were faced.
• Programmes are working well if the
mentor assigned is appropriately
skilled e.g different skills are required
for youth work and employability.
Based on discussions with
providers through the mapping
exercise it became clear that
challenges start to emerge
when children are eleven years
old following their transition to
secondary education.
10 Youth Unemployment in Northern Ireland: Applying a Social Innovation Lens
What is not working?
• Focus in government tenders on the
output not the outcome.
• Duplication of provision
• Organisations have a desire to change
how and what they deliver. Conflicted
between bidding for contracts that
fail to meet the needs of the user and
sustaining their organisation.
• Frustration at the criteria and
bureaucracy of the funding
environment. Too limited to provide
long term tailored support that would
make a real difference.
• There is so much competition
between providers which at times
makes collaboration challenging and
leads to mistrust.
• Can be mistrust between youth
work focused organisations and
employability focused organisations
• Learning environment not suited to
young people which leads to drop-out.
• Young people having to tell their story
many times to different mentors.
• Schools not preparing children for
‘real life’
• The risk associated with a young
person’s transition (at every stage
of their journey, from primary to
secondary, secondary to FE etc.) Many
young people disengaging aged 11
Consultees suggested that secondary
schools could provide more practical
support in relation to preparing young
people for work and life outside the
statutory education system. Once a sixteen
year old leaves school they often end up
in a learning environment that does not
meet their needs. There is a requirement
How might we do things differently?
• More communication between
funders to avoid duplication.
Commission for outcomes
• Consider a new common system used
to grade job readiness of the young
person to show need and progression.
• Co-design of all programmes with
providers and users.
• Ensure there is one key contact with
the young person who is consistent
throughout their journey enabling the
development of trust.
• Ensure that employers are engaged in
relation to employability initiatives
• Consideration should be given to
rolling out the supported employment
model of support
• Change how schools might prepare
young people for ‘real life’ and work.
Focus delivery on the client
for funders, providers and users to co-
design interventions that will meet the
needs of 16-18 year olds. It is essential
that providers employ staff who clearly
understand the challenges facing ‘hard to
reach’ young people. Appropriate mentors
should be skilled and deployed to ensure
they match the needs of the clients.
5.3 PHASE 2: Best Practice
The sharing of knowledge and
best practice was facilitated on an
international, regional and local basis.
Desk research was carried out to identify
best practice locally and internationally.
Case studies were sought where success
turning around the lives of young people
was clearly evident. A common thread in
all case studies was that an individual had
a vision, took ownership of a challenge and
drove the implementation of their vision.
The case studies were used to demonstrate
to participants the value of a ‘can do’
mindset to begin to deliver the change
needed in Northern Ireland and prove that
with the right will, anything is possible.
The case studies that were used are
shown below:

Session Case Study

Insights Workshop HOMEBOY INDUSTRIES:

Re-engaging youth offenders through employment. 'Homeboy offers six different social
enterprise businesses where trainees can receive real job training that they can use
immediately upon graduation from this programme.

Define Challenge IAN MIKARDO:

Secondary School for the 'unteachables' in London. Proving you can connect with hard to
reach young people by taking a different approach.

Ideation STREET FOOTBALL WORLD:

Youth employment through football. This case study highlighted the importance of a team
approach 'it takes a team to make a win'.

Ideation RICHARD TAYLOR, HYDEBANK WOOD:

The importance of prototyping 'we have more pilots than Ryanair'. Say ‘yes’ ‘anyone with
an idea was given 10 days to get it off the ground’.

Prototype JOB CORPS USA:

(example of a successful US model) residential education and job training programme for
at-risk youth, ages 16 through 24.

Action Planning DAVE LINTON, MADLUG:

Call to action- don't wait for funding, just do it.

Gaining an in-depth view of the sector

‘It made me understand what other

providers actually do and how we
should be collaborating more’.

Youth Unemployment in Northern Ireland: Applying a Social Innovation Lens 11

 5.4 PHASE 3: ‘thinc’ Process
In order to facilitate and encourage
knowledge exchange on a local
and regional level, participants
were taken through the Work
West ‘thinc’ process. The
requirement for full attendance
was clearly articulated to all before
signing up to the programme
and they all completed a charter
of commitment to attendance.
The ‘thinc’ process involved the
following workshops:
1 and negative choices were acknowledged,
Workshop 1: Empathy Building
Empathy is the ability to
understand and share the feelings
of another. Working collaboratively
teams commenced an in-depth
exploration of their experiences
within the sector and their
knowledge of their service users.
Four key themes emerged from this
initial knowledge sharing:
The socio-historical context of Northern
Ireland was noted as the backdrop of
this challenge. Though the Good Friday
Agreement was signed in 1998, the legacy
of the troubles pervades everyday life for
many residents (deprivation/ paramilitaries),
3-4 generations of unemployment etc.
Family life/ Home: Those in the ‘NEETs’
category face challenging environments
at home, which were often noted as being
disruptive due to addiction, a lack of role
models and benefits dependency. It was
suggested that NEETs are the ‘product of
adverse childhood experiences’.
Education: A confusing educational
landscape was exacerbated by a lack of role
models and a lack of parental support.
12 Youth Unemployment in Northern Ireland: Applying a Social Innovation Lens
Employment: Lacking role models within
the home and often receiving poor careers
advice, gainful employment often appeared as
something intangible or outside their reach.
Participants also used an empathy mapping
tool which encouraged them to consider and
share what it is really like to be the young
person. It emerged that these young people:
Feel: Demoralized by their social
circumstances with some displaying an
entitlement mentality.
Do: Actions are often peer- led, with a
tendency to stay within established local
groups. Structural deprivation such as
illiteracy was often concealed by creative
tactics. Frustration sometimes led to acting
out and anger. Whilst risk taking behaviour
it too was noted that many also have family
responsibilities, study and play sports.
See: Poverty, disadvantage and generational
unemployment. Unrealistic lifestyle
marketing campaigns. Unhelpful role
models, drugs and other anti-social issues
within communities often serve to deepen
the chasm between NEETs and their
chances of social mobility.
Think: NEETs think in the short term,
day to day/ week to week and want to
be adults but without the responsibilities.
Lacking self-belief, confidence and guidance
and having experienced issues within
the education system many NEETs have
disorganised thought processes and think
they are not good enough, questioning
‘where do I fit in?, ‘who cares’? and ‘what’s
in it for me’?
Hear: High unemployment, why bother?
Hearing few positive affirmations, feelings
of worthlessness are often compounded
by hearing that A* exam results = success.
Lacking a cohesive support network to
navigate employment opportunities,
frustration often grows when they hear ‘get
a job’ or ‘do something’. Mixed messages
from social media channels serve to further
confuse and incapacitate a young person
who hears that ‘you are defined by where
you came from’ and ‘you will not achieve’.
Say: Help was often asked for, with many
young people saying they found it difficult
to cope. It was noted that in contrast to
females, young males communicate less
verbally. Self-limiting statements, apathy
and a sense of not belonging lead many
young people to answer questions with
‘I don’t know’. Whereas some seek help
and acknowledge they need guidance and
support, others display a contentedness with
their situation saying ‘I am happy, are you?
Participants were then taken through an
insight gathering process and asked to
buddy up with another participant to plan
how they could conduct research with
young people to ensure that they fully
understood the challenges young people
faced, as well as their own opinions as
service providers.
Key Observations :
• This empathy building workshop
enabled participants to gain a deeper
understanding of what they did and did
not know about their service users. It
also acted as a binding agent, connecting
individuals from (often) competing
organisations, focusing them on the
shared challenge.
• Participants spoke at length as they
worked through the tools, exchanging
their respective experiences in the sector.
There was less willingness to exchange
information about their clients and there
was a notable discomfort when it was
suggested that participants pair up to
gather insights.
• It became clear that a level of trust
needed to have been established prior to
the commencement of the programme.
On reflection a half day dedicated to trust
and relationship building would have been
very beneficial.

2 agreed that the following observations
Workshop 2: Insights
(two weeks later)
‘The best insights reveal behaviours
or phenomena and point to solutions
or ideas. And because insights are
grounded in human needs and
desires, they lead to ideas that create
value in people’s lives’
(Stafford June 2018).
Participants returned to the ‘thinc’ process
having been challenged to go out and
speak openly to some service users and
gather insights from them. Insights were
shared with other team members and the
next stage was to review these insights and
identify themes that were emerging across
all the interviews.
Following the insight gathering it was
underpinned and impacted on the overall
challenge and for the remainder of the Key Observations
programme participants referred to the
• It became apparent that not everyone
following six ‘facts’ to ensure that their
proposed solutions would impact on these:
had fully engaged in gathering the
insights which made it very difficult to
1. No clear pathway for the young people move participants through this part of
to navigate through the system and the process. Those who completed the
there is a lack of understanding of what insights confirmed they had gained a
they will achieve by participating in the refreshing new perspective.
programmes offered currently by service
providers • The disparity in efforts to engage in this
activity created a certain tension amongst
2. The system is also confusing for providers those who had and those who had not
3. Short term funding impacts on the completed this part of the process.
services provided
4. The funding model focuses on numbers
not on impact
5. NEETs are moving from programme to
programme without any results or benefit
6. The lack of aspiration- ‘this is all there is’
Youth Unemployment in Northern Ireland: Applying a Social Innovation Lens 13
 3
Workshop 3: Define the Challenge
The focus in the workshop was to fully understand the challenge and break it down into meaningful, actionable
problems for which the teams could then generate innovative solutions. Between workshops two and three
participants were asked to complete an online tool to profile their ‘thinking’ preference – ‘FourSight’. FourSight is
an online tool which measures creative preference. It identifies an individual’s high energy points in the creative
process. The five main creative thinking preferences are as follows:

FourSight creative profile:

Clarifiers like to spend time getting a clear
understanding of a challenge or issue before
leaping into ideas, solutions or action and
enjoy looking at the details.

Ideators like to generate broad concepts

and ideas. Visionaries by nature, they are
most comfortable understanding the big
picture and stretching their imaginations.

Developers like to spend time analysing

potential solutions, breaking them apart and
examining their strengths and weaknesses.

Implementers strive constantly to take

action on ideas. They derive the most
energy from bringing ideas to fruition and
seeing tangible outcomes.

Integrators take an even-handed approach

to the creative process with a profile
that shows no particular peaks or valleys.
Integrators’ energies stay rather steady.

FourSight preferences can offer a valuable

lens and teams were constructed to reflect
the different thinking preferences where
possible. The overall creative profile of the
group is displayed in the featured graph.

As the graph shows, the combined cohorts
display a high preference for clarification
and implementation but a low preference
for ideation. Ideation is essential for the
generation of new and innovative solutions.
In addition to this, a visual journey map was
created for both cohorts which reflected the
key insights gathered and also highlighted
the common threads across Belfast and Derry.

14 Youth Unemployment in Northern Ireland: Applying a Social Innovation Lens

13 Key Themes
Reviewing the journey map and discussing the common threads, thirteen key themes
were identified and agreed by the whole group as the most important to the young people:

1. Confidence & 2. Social & 3. Role models 4. Policy 5. The training

motivation community system
influence

6. Employability 7. School experience 8. Attitudes to work 9. Where are the 10. Benefits trap
experience jobs?

11. Buddy Mentor 12. Infrastructure 13. Lack of

inspiration/ hope

Teams were allocated themes on which they generated ‘How Might We (HMW)’
statements. They worked collectively using divergent thinking to consider the themes
from a range of perspectives, to reflect on the insights they had gathered in order to fully
understand the challenges young people were facing and to distill the overarching problems
into actionable ‘HMW’ statements which were ripe for new thinking.

Themes How Might We

• Ensure every young person has a positive role model within their life?
• Encourage all providers of services to 16-18 year olds to collaborate to find one solution?
• Work with young people to support them in recognising their own self- worth and values?
• Empower young people to be independent and resilient?

3. Role model

• Help young people understand the benefits of work?

• Help young people understand that work is a journey and can start tough but get better?
• Help young people understand the opportunities they have?
• Involve key stakeholders in journey?
8. Attitudes to
• Bridge the perceived equality issues (social status)?
work

Youth Unemployment in Northern Ireland: Applying a Social Innovation Lens 15

 Themes How Might We

• Educate young people on the benefits of working and earning money (wages vs benefits)?
• Break the cycle of benefits dependency?
• Ensure that young people start on the right training path, ‘long term vision’?

10. Benefits trap

• Promote the idea of a buddy mentor to a young person?

• Encourage people to become a buddy mentor?
• Develop guidelines and aims for buddy mentors?
• Develop a buddy support database?
• Ensure non-academics have a role in a buddy system?
11. Buddy mentor

• Work together to create a service network that puts young people first?
• Resource organisations supporting young people better?
• Intervene earlier?

12. Infrastructure

• The combined groups’ FourSight • The number and variety of ‘HMW’

Key Observations
• The introduction of the FourSight profiles
and the journey map re-energised and
• Teams worked diligently, engaging in lively
re-engaged the participants
profile displayed a high preference for
the implementation of ideas and low
preference for ideation which meant that
participants were not as energised when
coming up with new ideas
debate and discussion as they delved
deeper into the challenge and generated
their ‘HMW’ statements
statements reflected the depth and
breadth of the conversations going on
in the room and the complexity of this
challenge. It also highlighted the value
of spending time collaboratively getting
an agreed understanding of the range of
issues these young people face.

4
Workshop 4: Ideation
(Divergent Thinking)
Ideation is the creative process
of generating, developing and
communicating new ideas. This
is known as divergent thinking. It
favours novelty and wild ideas and
is essential for meaningful ideation
to take place. As the majority of FourSight creative profile:
participants did not present a
‘thinking’ preference for ‘ideation’
this workshop commenced with
numerous exercises to help and
encourage participants to engage
with this form of thinking.

16 Youth Unemployment in Northern Ireland: Applying a Social Innovation Lens

Below is a sample of the ideas generated during this phase

Themes HMW Idea

HMW work with young people to
support them in recognising their own
self worth and values?
1. Confidence &
motivation
Hobby mentor / identify hobbies first:build courses around them/
midnight learning club/ earn as you learn £40 for full weeks work/
meet them,ask them, listen to them, respond/ holistic approach from
primary school up/ overseas travel/ conscription: a month away from
NI/overseas travel/ bring back play/ project based learning/ allocate a
significant other thoughout school/ confidence awards for class clowns/
interaction with community groups/ £25,000 for ‘jobs we don’t want to
do’/ change the language/ ‘Good job’ Friday awards

HMW address access to Get the mothers back to education/ parent , buddy mentor system/
opportunities? learning dreams/ move away from term NEET/ informal learning
environments/ remove stigma
2. Social &
community
influence

HMW tailor individual learning? Map the reality of the system without penalties/ teachers should swap
schools (cream no longer floating to the top)/ communicate in first
HMW ensure equal opportunities
names only/ enhance empathy by personalising experience/ school
within schools?
becomes community hub
7. School HMW build on each child’s strengths?
experience
HMW look to influence our
education system?

‘HMW design a purposeful catch-up
qualification pathway after leaving
formal school’?
‘HMW simplify the provision of
9. The training training in NI?’
system
‘HMW have education and training
driven by demand and not by funding
availability?’
New system: education compulsory until 19/ paid –to-catch-up scheme/
Leaving Certificate ROI style/ free education to 19/ careers mentor/
remove financial incentives/ matching kids to teaching styles/ confidence
building: life coaching as part of training/ focus on the 3 R’s/kids design
the system/ master apprenticeships for new industries/ wider curriculum:
practical life skills module /virtual university in the community
Delivery: extended school hours/ teachers to have youth work
qualifications/ teachers rap their classes/ schools as a community
resource/ creative learning programmes/ trainee wage paid by the
government/ teachers should only teach for a few years/ change value
base: education more beneficial than the dole

Physical environment: no classroom/no desks/ ideate education

system/ learn from others

Key Observations
• There was a low attendance rate at the
fourth workshop. This created difficulty
for attendees as in order to generate the
volume of ideas that was required in the
ideation phase full attendance was crucial
• Although the teams were challenged
throughout the ideation session, those
present worked hard to produce a strong
assortment of ideas to carry into the next
ideation session
• The graphic above shows the wide range
of ideas which varied from ‘conscription
away from Northern Ireland’ to getting
parents back to education.

Youth Unemployment in Northern Ireland: Applying a Social Innovation Lens 17

 5
Workshop 5: Ideation and Concepts
(Convergent Thinking)
The divergent thinking in workshop
four was followed by convergent
thinking in workshop five. This
workshop focused on structuring
and organizing the ideas that had
been generated. At the outset of
workshop five, participants took
some time to review their ideas
and to add more. The groups were
then introduced to convergent
thinking tools to help cluster their
ideas, identify emerging concepts,
evaluate the concepts they wished
to progress with, build a single
• This workshop was challenging however,
concept further and introduce new with improved attendance and the
thinking. The workshop ended with introduction of relevant tools, teams
teams giving a brief presentation of applied themselves diligently to ideate
Key Observations and build concepts
their preferred concept.
• Ideation hurts and the participants with • Presenting, sharing and subsequently
a low preference for ideation struggled contributing to each other’s concepts
to push for more ideas and to distill the served as a cross pollination tool which
gamut of ideas they had produced encouraged and motivated the teams.

6
Workshop 6: Storyboard and
Prototype
In workshop 6, teams constructed
a storyboard and prototype of
their concept. This prototyping
exercise encouraged participants
to produce a visual of their concept
with inexpensive materials- literally
‘giving their mind a hand’. The
prototype creates a space between
the team and the user and, because
it depersonalizes the idea, it allows
teams to constructively receive
feedback.

Key Observations
• Through storyboarding, prototyping and
presenting it was observed that teams
gained clarity and confidence in their
concepts and ideas
• This fast paced, hands on session
taught the participants the value of
rapid experimentation and highlighted the
iterative nature of the design
thinking process
• Conscious of a new way of working it
took some participants time to become
comfortable in the prototyping phase. In
future programmes it may be beneficial
to introduce a prototyping exercise at an
earlier stage.

18 Youth Unemployment in Northern Ireland: Applying a Social Innovation Lens

 7
Workshop 7: Knowledge Exchange
& Action Planning
Workshop seven provided the first
opportunity for the promotion
of knowledge exchange across
the two cohorts and for them
to meet and effectively ‘show
and tell’. Participants were each
allocated two minutes to introduce
themselves and a project of which
they were most proud. With twenty
seven participants in the room,
this initial phase of the knowledge
exchange continued until lunch.
This timely break provided the
opportunity for participants to
engage in further discussions with
those whose work had piqued
their interest, building and creating
future relationships and links.
Session Belfast Attendance
Empathy Workshop 100%
Insights Workshop 95%
Define the Challenge 75%
(Foursight profiles)
Ideation 55%
Further Ideation 75%
Prototype 60%
Knowledge Exchange/ 70%
Action Planning
In the afternoon session, the original teams Key Observations
were reformed and given time to review
• The majority of this workshop was
their storyboards, clarification tools and
images of their prototypes. Moving into taken up by presentations and action
the next phase of the knowledge exchange planning exercises. This impacted on the
programme, the six teams presented and opportunity for intensive networking and
shared their solutions. This was followed knowledge exchange.
by a reflective period where participants
Overall Observations
critiqued the solutions and each team
received feedback from the others.
Attendance rates (detailed below) created
Capitalising on the momentum generated a challenge for this delivery model which
from the feedback, an action tool was was fundamentally linked to the level of
handed out. Teams were allocated thirty interaction within the group.
minutes to plan and decide how they might
move their idea forward, listing all the tasks
which had to be completed and allocating
these to team members.
Derry/Londonderry
attendance
100%
88%
88%
88%
76%
76%
76%
Youth Unemployment in Northern Ireland: Applying a Social Innovation Lens 19
 6.0 Ideas Developed and Prototyped
The following ideas were selected by the teams and taken to the prototype stage.

Providers of services to any NEETS Additional key elements:

person simplify the pathway for the young
• Comprehensive list of all the options that
people by cooperating and sharing all
are currently on offer without the need to
their information centrally. That collective
contact each and every provider
information should then be built into an
easy to navigate app. Instead of going • Easy to navigate, lists all relevant
from pillar to post trying to find out what information for service providers such as
Concept 1: support and help is available, each young contact number, description of services,
person is initially allocated a Personal opening hours, directions to the service
‘The Middle Man’ or
Advocate. The advocate will have access
‘The Connector’ App to the app and will ensure that the young
• Eligibility criteria for each service/option
included so young person can easily
person also has access and is shown how
ascertain if they are eligible to apply,
to navigate the app.
waiting times, deadlines etc.
The first step would be a 1:1 face to face
meeting where each young person meets
their advocate to tease out any issues,
ensure that the young person is listened to
and is guided towards services that meet
their specific needs. The app should be
built to include many different pathways
e.g. young person is homeless and needs a
job, young person is leaving school with no
qualifications but wants to try education
again, and demonstrate that each young
person does indeed have choices.

Create both a virtual and a physical hub Additional key elements:

building. The building should be centrally
located in the city in a neutral space, with
transport links directly to it. The building,
inspired by Google HQ, will create an
atmosphere welcoming to the young
people, and be dedicated to help improve
Concept 2: the lives and opportunities of young people.
The Hub (dedicated service This should provide a comprehensive
centre for young people)
range of services with no age limit to
allow for early intervention if needed.
This would be a real one stop shop
supported by all those who provide
services to young people – educators,
employers, benefits providers, healthcare
providers, social services. It would offer
both vocational and non-vocational
programmes and ensured an individual
pathway for each young person.
In addition to the usual training facilities
the building would have childcare facilities
available on site, quiet rooms and sensory
spaces, and possibly apartments for young
people transitioning to independent living
to simulate and teach skills needed for
living independently.
• One stop shop offering a holistic approach
• Emphasis on a buddy system
• Skills assessment/ personal assessments
• Support structures to help young people
through difficult times e.g. counselling, life
coaching, nutrition and exercise coaches
on site.
• Social media campaign to engage and
inform young people
• Ted talks with local people who have used
the services to make it real and accessible
• Provide a wide range of taster opportunities
and non-traditional placements
• Parents as volunteers
• Use external space to teach skills
eg allotments.
• Establish a youth led social enterprise
• Young people help to create training
programmes for the staff to ensure that
staff have the skills and training that the
young people need

20 Youth Unemployment in Northern Ireland: Applying a Social Innovation Lens


Concept 3:
Innovation Centre in the school
Establish a physical space inside schools
as a space and place for creativity and
innovation activities, where all the children
in the school will have the freedom to
experiment and develop their own creative
thinking. This innovation centre would
be a place where the focus is on learning
that is not assessed or graded in the
standard manner. It is believed that this
approach would have a positive impact on
improving aspirations. It is proposed that
students would have access to this from
year one right through to school leaving
age – an essential and rudimentary part
of education. The centre should also be
linked directly to employers and students
at different ages given the opportunities to
do real work – not just having a placement
week if you stay in school until over 16.
This work should ideally be paid.
Youth Unemployment in Northern Ireland: Applying a Social Innovation Lens 21
Additional key elements:
• Core principles of the innovation centre:
exploration/ curiosity/ critical thinking/
harnessing a questioning environment/
experimentation/ ‘failing’ repeatedly
• Prioritising and promoting the importance
of creativity and innovation within the
education system
• Instilling confidence and promoting
creativity from a very young age ingraining
self-belief from ones earliest schooldays
• A model that can be implemented in
all schools
• Students would be encouraged to adopt
a ‘can do’ attitude
• Practical skills for all types of learners

Concept 4:
The Term ‘NEETS’ to be abolished
and replaced with ‘Innoventeurs’
This will help to destigmatise the young Additional key elements:
people and help providers see these
young people as individuals with individual • new system built on respect and trust
training needs and not as a single
• sense of involvement and inclusion
problem group for education and training
providers. It will be essential to define the • support for both NEETS and their parents
skillset of Innoventeurs and then develop
programmes specifically focused on • instilling confidence and aspiration in two
developing that skillset which is valued for generations of a family
life and work at least is on an equal footing
with qualifications.

Currently a young person can get paid to Additional key elements:

engage in training which they often have • Tackles ‘the churn’ and playing the system
no real interest in and is not necessarily
• Supportive framework which can be
matched in any way to their skills or
measured, where the user is placed in
interests. Establish a new tailored support
the middle
programme for every young person, which
would involve all service providers sharing • Employers act as a “sponsor” to the
Concept 5: effectively their information with each young person and the needs of the
other to help the young person identify employers taken into consideration by
Tailored support system the qualification providers so that the
clear pathways and eliminate duplication
for the individual of provision. Each young person would qualifications are closely matched to
be assigned an independent mentor (not the skills the employers need the young
associated with any particular service people to actually have ( not just for the
provider) to help them build a personal sake of it )
plan clearly identifying their needs and
types of employment they want. This
system would be driven by the needs of
the individual young person not by the
needs of the training providers.

Young people would have the opportunity

to try a number of different jobs in
different sectors, speaking to people in
those sectors and meeting with employers
to learn more before committing to a
sector. Once a decision has been made
on the sector the young person, their
mentor and a sponsor employer work
together to design a sector specific skills
and development plan to help the young
person prepare to work in that sector.
This would involve on the job training in
the workplace and if needed a release to
college to get a relevant qualification but
only if relevant not just qualification for the
sake of it.

22 Youth Unemployment in Northern Ireland: Applying a Social Innovation Lens


Concept 6:
Campus of Dreams (school and
multi-functional after-hours
space)
Disengaged young people currently see the
system as broken with no meaningful way
to deal with their needs leaving them feeling
hopeless and worthless. It is important to
map the current reality of the system fully
and honestly without fear of penalties and
change the approach to school, opening up
the teaching system as the school system is
unsustainable.
The Campus of Dreams will be a centre
within the community which will serve
the many needs of families in the area
hosting food, community meetings, parents’
programmes, family services (health and
screening), churches, festivals and fun days,
teaching, Butlins style. Bring together,
in a carefully facilitated way, a group of
interested stakeholders in an area who are
totally committed to using new methods
and approaches to raising the aspirations
and achievements of these young people
and then pilot a school with a group of
community and other stakeholders to
share and collectively own and use the
school for community activities and to build
relationships. All these people must feel
equal, mutually valued and share family values
at their core. The focus will be on inclusivity,
developing self worth and confidence and a
holistic approach to the individual.
Young people would take control of telling
their stories of educational experience and
how it needs to be improved. Develop a
Youth Unemployment in Northern Ireland: Applying a Social Innovation Lens 23
system that measures success differently
– not just academic success but personal
growth, self-awareness, confidence that is
agreed by young people, stakeholders and
funders and move away from “bums on
seats” and tick box measuring of success to
meet funders requirements.
Additional key elements:
• Teachers all trained as youth workers first
and then should swap and rotate around
schools – district approach?
• Policy makers currently do not really
understand the impact of their policies so
anyone making education policy should
spend a month in a school
• Include a cross generational approach
inspiring parents and children in a family
to engage in new ways taking the family
on a journey not just the young person
• Young people decide what their
campaign to have their stories told looks
like such as a social media campaign
#notgoodenough, allowing a platform for
young people to share their experiences.
• Young people create a team who want
to hold straight talking and transparent
conversations around these issues.
• Agree that success must be measured
differently, no longer focusing on academic
attainment but valuing the whole young
person, their self- awareness, hopes,
aspirations & confidence.
 7.0 What Could We Do Differently?
Prototyping is an integral component of the Work West ‘thinc’ process.
Prototying involves testing and improving a product or service. Throughout the seven
workshops’ observations were recorded which pointed to areas which could be improved.

A list of recommendations have been
compiled based on observations made
throughout the programme. These
recommendations have the potential to
enrich and improve a future Knowledge
Exchange Programme. A future
programme would now:
• Host an introductory workshop at the
outset inviting all those interested
to attend. Make local knowledge a
key element of this event with real
opportunities to share knowledge and
experience for all attending
• Provide total clarity at the outset on • Request that participants make a financial
the programme content and essential contribution towards the programme
requirement to team up to gather insights with an additional fee payable for any
from another organisation. ‘Buddy’ every workshops not attended
participant with someone from another
organisation and each person must • Give an additional time allowance for
interview the others’ users and feedback the intensive level of networking which
participants sought.
• Complete Foursight profiles at the outset
and create teams based on this.
• Introduce additional ideators to the teams
at the ideation stage if needed

Gaining a deeper understanding of their service users

‘It has really enhanced my ability to

empathise with young people’

‘Guest speaker: Richard Taylor, Hydebank Wood speaks to KEP participants.’

24 Youth Unemployment in Northern Ireland: Applying a Social Innovation Lens

8.0 Concluding Remarks
and Lessons Learned
This Knowledge Exchange Programme was designed to facilitate knowledge exchange between all those who
participated, to exchange knowledge across NI and to provide participants with examples of international best
practice. The programme was also designed to identify potential new socially innovative solutions to address
unemployment challenges currently faced by 16-18 year olds.
• Prior to the programme many participants
would not have had the chance to meet
with each other and therefore did not
have a full understanding of the services
being delivered by others. The programme
created real opportunities for people
to learn more about each other’s work,
exchange their own experience of the
challenges and successes in their work.
It also helped to improve participants’
knowledge of other providers and the
support infrastructure for young people.
This level of knowledge exchange was
very much valued by all programme
attendees. Participants felt that the group
workshops were critical to the process as
was the input from case study providers.
• Participants engaged fully in the debates
and discussion surrounding the challenge
‘How Might We improve the employment
opportunities for 16-18 year olds in
Northern Ireland’, and during these
conversations it was observed that the
timescale of this programme did not allow
for the extent of discussion that these
service providers desired. Participant
feedback expressed a wish for a greater
focus on networking in Workshop One:
‘The first workshop could have been
more introductory, speed-dating
style could work well’
‘I would have liked more time at the
beginning to get to know others’
• Throughout the programme it became
apparent that there was a lack of
awareness of what competing service
providers offer and as a result, a lack of
awareness of the scale of duplication
within the sector. The process highlighted
a discomfort amongst participants when
the suggestion was made to pair up to
gather insights with each other’s clients.
Participants willingly shared their own
views and expert knowledge of the sector
but appeared reluctant to allow others to
access their clients. As a result the insight
gathering element of the programme did
not work as well as it might have.
‘It was honest and inspiring,
especially the realisation that
I don’t do enough of it (insight
gathering)….I will be doing more of
it going forward’’
‘talking to groups of young people
in care was very humbling’
• Participants felt that their insights and
opinions were listened to and valued
throughout the process and they engaged
in in-depth explorations and discussions
of the issues facing young people in the
‘NEETs’ category.
• Participants had a very deep
understanding of the challenges the
young people faced and the volume of
‘How Might We’ statements created
truly reflected the enormity of this
challenge and pinpointed all the stages
on the journey which were ripe for a new
and innovative approach. These HMW
statements could be taken forward by
any organisation who wish to ideate
and implement solutions for their own
organisations. The lack of a clear pathway
emerged as a fundamental issue facing
both young people and service providers.
This defining insight became the focus
for the teams as they moved through the
design thinking process.
• Participants were incredibly confident
that the solutions proposed could be
implemented to improve the employability
opportunities for young people but did
not seem to take ownership for the actual
implementation of these. Participants
came from different organisations and
were returning to their “day job”. They
could see the benefits of a collaborative
working approach to bring these ideas
forward but the mechanism to do this
does not currently exist.
Youth Unemployment in Northern Ireland: Applying a Social Innovation Lens 25
• All the workshops were fully interactive
and the success of the ambition to
develop innovative solutions was
dependent on the contribution of the
participants. Throughout the programme,
there was a great emphasis placed on
the need to attend and fully participate
in all the workshops. However, poor
attendance at a number of the workshops
was an issue and had a very negative
impact on the groups and the overall
process. Despite this, participant feedback
demonstrated high level improvement
in relation to creativity, networking
and social innovation and innovative
approaches within both cohorts.
• The FourSight profiling tool revealed that
both groups had a low preference for
ideation making the overall generation
of new innovative ideas more difficult.
Shifting from old to new thinking patterns
is difficult, takes time and requires a
willingness and an open mindset. As with
any new process, participants experienced
both pain points and high points and
this programme depended upon having
willing and motivated people in the
room. The recruitment process called for
participants who believed there may be
a different way to tackle this pertinent
social challenge (‘How might we improve
the employment opportunities for 16-18
year olds in Northern Ireland’). Design
thinking is a methodology which, like all
others, takes practice before a level of
confidence can be attained. Throughout
the seven workshops, differing levels of
resistance and doubt about this approach
were noted as follows:
‘blue sky thinking outputs are not
affordable in today’s economy’,
‘I feel the weakest part of this
process is not knowing if anything
will come out of it’.
 • The current system has been built upon
a tradition of funding dependency.
This Knowledge Exchange Programme
was designed specifically to challenge
traditional ways of thinking. Each
workshop was supplemented by guest
speakers or a case study. The case studies
used all featured an underlying message
which was that when an individual
undertook and committed to the role
of change maker their ideas gained
momentum. Some participants found it
difficult to adopt a positive mindset and
expressed anxiety about their solutions:
‘the most frustrating thing is there
isn’t any funding to create our hub’
‘the most frustrating aspect was
that our idea would most likely
never happen despite being
confident it addresses multiple
issues. I believe our solution could
be implemented but I doubt it will
due to funding’
These views are not reflective of all
participants. Where some saw funding
barriers, others saw opportunity:
‘Our team’s proposed solution is
very ‘do-able’ you will just need
courage and the right people in the
room.’
The feedback acknowledges that to drive
change one must commit to being a change
maker, remain resilient and select appropriate
working partners with a shared vision. Even
with this support in place, at times the
creative route can be isolating and difficult.
One participant spoke of the:
‘vulnerability of being creative and
the loneliness of it’.
• A creative approach and mindset is one
which welcomes and embraces change.
Many people feel overwhelmed by
change and so often do not challenge the
status quo, which in contrast to change
feels safe and familiar. It is for this reason
that tensions and isolation can often arise
on the creative journey.
Change takes time and, although we
recognise and celebrate many successes
from the Knowledge Exchange Programme,
we do acknowledge that a shift in thinking
within the sector will take time. The
participants’ dedication, open mindedness,
willingness to experiment and push
themselves outside of their comfort zones
have been documented throughout this
report. It highlights the very real potential
that exists across Northern Ireland to
embrace an innovative and creative way
of thinking to address long standing social
challenges which traditional approaches
have not yet resolved.
Bibliography
Blandford, S. 2017 Born to fail? Social
mobility: a working class view. John Catt
Education LTD. Woodbridge.
Centre for Cities: Business Start-Ups 2016.
Available at http://www.centreforcities.org/
data-tool/ Internet document accessed
21st March 2017.
Department for the Economy (2012)
Pathways to Success. Available at www.
economy-ni.gov.uk
Joseph Rowntree Foundation (2017) UK
Poverty 2017. Available at https://www.jrf.
org.uk/report/uk-poverty-2017. Internet
document accessed 4th March 2017.
Powell, A. (2018). House of Commons
Library, Briefing Paper. NEET: Young people
not in Education, Employment or Education.
Available at https://researchbriefings.
parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/
SN06705.
Stafford, C. L. 2018. Coe Leta Stafford:
Why generating insights is an important
skill. [Article ] retrieved from https://
www.ideou.com/blogs/inspiration/
why-is-generating-insights-an-important-
skill?utm_medium=organic-social&utm_
source=linkedin&utm_campaign=4.3-jane-
coe-insights-blog-2018-jun

These sentiments were echoed by another

who quoted his most inspiring moment as:

‘Making the realisation that we are

not the problem, we must be the
solution- nothing will improve if you
don’t make it happen.’

Making connections for the future

‘From the programme in Derry I actually

discovered there were providers that I didn’t
know existed- and will stay in touch’

26 Youth Unemployment in Northern Ireland: Applying a Social Innovation Lens

Appendices
Appendix 1: Stakeholder engagement in ‘thinc’ workshops
The table below provides details of those who committed to participate
in the workshop element of the programme.

Cohort Organisation Name

Belfast Belfast Met Mary Coffey

Belfast Met Heather Hedley

Ashton Community Trust / Fablabs Adam Wallace

Bright Owl Solutions Alison McCaw

NOW Group Andrea Foster

Start 360 Anne Marie McClure

Resurgam Trust Francie Ferris

ECL training Gerard Fox

Footprints Womens Centre Gillian Gibson

West Belfast Partnership Board Jim Girvan

West Belfast Partnership Board Louise Brennan

Okey Dokey Design Joe Conere

USEL Karen Gilgunn

North Down Community Network Louise Little

Active Communities Network Mark Copeland

Princes Trust Orla Major

Include Youth Paddy Mooney

GEMS Stephen Atkinson

Voypic Vivian McConvey

Belfast Health and Social Care Trust Yvonne Cowan

Springboard Angila Chada

Youth Unemployment in Northern Ireland: Applying a Social Innovation Lens 27

 Cohort Organisation Name

North West Skills 2020 Amanda Leighton

Skills 2020 Deirdre Nash

Skills 2020 Oonagh Quig

Enterprise North West Carrie McCafferty

The 4 R’s project Colette Coyle

Youth Action Conor McGilloway

Young Enterprise Deborah Lamberton

North West Regional College Gareth Doran

Strabane Training services Gemma McClure

Greater Shantallow Area Partnership Helen Sayers

DSCDC Holly Carroll

Leafair Community Association Karyn Cunningham

Leafair Community Association Michaela McGolloway

Whistle Project Catrina Heaney

Youth Justice Agency Kayleidh Carlin

School / Employer Connections Owen Crozier

Nerve Centre / Fab Lab Rachel Duffy

Derry Youth and Community Workshop Rosemary McKinney

The importance of having time to speak and listen

‘Hearing from people, their ideas and their

experiences. I actually really enjoyed that and
it’s something I will make use of in terms of
decision making in my organisation.’

28 Youth Unemployment in Northern Ireland: Applying a Social Innovation Lens

Appendix 2: KEP survey analysis
• Surveys collated for 23 participants at the • High level improvements in levels • Participants felt that their insights and
final workshop of creativity, networking and social opinions were listened to and valued
innovation and innovative approaches through the process
• Qualitative responses gathered in eleven
key themes, as illustrated, with the • The group workshops were critical to the • Participants were incredibly confident
following findings: process as was the input from case study that the solution developed by their team
providers could be implemented with an average
• The programme helped to improve rating of 4.2 from 5.
participants knowledge of other providers
and the support infrastructure for young
people

To what extent participants felt that the following had improved as a result of the programme

Theme A lot Somewhat A little Not at all

To what extent did the programme improve your knowledge 59% 41% 0% 0%
and understanding of other providers and the support
structure?

To what extent do you feel that you improved your level 23% 55% 18% 5%
of understanding of the pre-employment and employment
needs of young people aged 16-18?

Collaboration 32% 45% 23% 0%

Networking 50% 41% 9% 5%

Creativity 32% 59% 9% 0%

Knowledge of innovation & innovative approaches 41% 55% 5% 0%

Understanding the benefits of design thinking (prototyping, 50% 45% 5% 0%

using evidence in design and learning by doing)

How important were the group workshops in completing the 60% 40% 0% 0%
process

How useful did you find the case studies and guest speakers? 65% 30% 0% 5%

Do you feel that your insights and opinions were listened to 86% 14% 0% 0%
in the team, were they valued in the process?

How confident, on a scale of 1 (not at all) to 5 (very 4.2 (average

confident) that your team’s solutions can be implemented? rating)

Youth Unemployment in Northern Ireland: Applying a Social Innovation Lens 29

 Appendix 3. Glossary of terms
Social Innovation
At Social Innovation NI, social innovation
is simply defined as finding new and
innovative solutions (products, services,
practices, processes, rules, organisational
forms etc.) to existing social problems.
These solutions can take the form of
new products, services, models, markets
or processes. Crucially social innovation
seeks not only to resolve the immediate
social problem but also enhances society’s
capacity to act in future.
In other words, social innovations are both
good for society and enhance society’s
capacity to act. Social innovation is not
new. It has been happening throughout
human history. But by thinking about
how it happens, we can increase our
chances of developing the new solutions
society needs.
30 Youth Unemployment in Northern Ireland: Applying a Social Innovation Lens
Social Enterprise Design Thinking
Social Enterprise UK defines Social Design thinking is a methodology used
Enterprises as organisations that trade by designers to solve complex problems
to tackle social problems, improve and find desirable solutions for clients. It
communities, people’s life chances, or draws upon logic, imagination, intuition
the environment. They make their money and systemic reasoning to explore
from selling goods and services in the possibilities of what could be and create
open market but they reinvest their desired outcomes for the end user.
profits back into the business or the local
community. Not all social enterprises
claim to be innovative (some use tried and
NEETs
trusted models), though many are.
NEETS is an acronym used to describe
Social Entrepreneur
young people aged 16-24 who are not in
Ashoka (one of the largest networks of education, employment or training.
social entrepreneurs worldwide) define
social entrepreneurs as people with
new solutions to society’s problems.
Rather than leaving societal needs to
existing institutions, social entrepreneurs
find what is not working and solve
the problem by changing the system,
spreading the solution, and persuading
entire societies to move in different
directions. They can be found in all
sectors, working both inside organisations
and independently. Where social
innovations are the new solutions,
social entrepreneurs are the people who
develop and/or grow them.
The level playing field created by the design thinking process

‘One of our team members was very shy and

always held back. By the end of workshop 3
she became more confident and vocal’

FourSight: understanding the way you think and work

‘I am a driver- a new discovery but makes

sense, so some of the deliberations I found
lengthy but I tried to be patient.’

Mediating participants’ commitment

‘The impact of team members missing

sessions was frustrating for many but this
reflects the value of the team dynamic’.

Youth Unemployment in Northern Ireland: Applying a Social Innovation Lens 31

Building Change Trust/Social Innovation NI Work West Enterprise Agency Enterprise North West

6A Albert Street, 301 Glen Road, Skeoge Industrial Estate Beraghmore Road,
Belfast BT12 4HQ Belfast BT11 8BU Londonderry BT48 8SE

T 028 9040 8725 T 028 9061 0826 T 028 7135 2693

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