Youth Opportunity Fund: How we spent it in ... East Sussex

Since 2006, East Sussex has had a single panel of about 12 young people from across the county making decisions about how to spend its £273,100 of youth opportunity fund and £236,100 of youth capital fund monies.

But last year the young people decided to develop a YouthBank in an effort to make youth grant-making sustainable in the county.

Co-ordinator Tracey Johnson worked with the existing youth panel on the application for a licence from YouthBank UK.

Obtaining a licence requires operators to demonstrate that they have appropriate partners in place, that they share principles about empowerment and that they have funding available for two years.

The licence was approved in November last year and the new YouthBank was launched in March this year.

Who's on the panel? "The panel combines young people from youth councils - the type we might expect to be engaged - but equally there are others from very complicated and disadvantaged backgrounds," explains Johnson.

"They are sitting there as equal partners and they are all there because they want to be there - no-one is 'referred' to it, no-one is there because of their disadvantage.

"We work closely with partners, including detached workers, the youth offending team and voluntary organisations to identify those who might want to be a part of it."

So what has changed? When young people were asked about how the decision-making process should work, they said they were not keen on the idea of people from other parts of the county making decisions about their areas. Therefore, the panel is making use of local youth councils and is planning to create YouthBank panels for each of the five areas of the county.

Johnson says the process is helping to strengthen youth councils. "It means they have a tangible way to change things; they have teeth," she says.

What the young people say: James Davies, 16, from East Sussex Youth Cabinet, says Youth-Bank provides a great way to take forward the government's Things to Do, Places to Go agenda. "It will enable us to empower young people in the county to tackle the lack of provision in their local area," he says.

How will the new panels develop? Awareness is being raised through staging live grant-giving events, an established YouthBank process where young people can turn up and pitch an idea for a small grant.

"It's a great way of introducing the idea," says Johnson. "Then maybe young people will go away and work up a plan for something more ambitious."

In addition to youth opportunity fund and youth capital fund monies, YouthBank is hoping to enter into partnerships with district councils and secure additional funds from national sources.

"We want to send the message that it goes beyond just giving out money. It is about active citizenship," says Johnson.

"But the money must be handed over to young people - funders must be prepared to give up a bit of a control. It's up to all of us to demonstrate that young people can deal with this responsibility."

WHERE THE MONEY WENT

Bourne Free Summer Ball - Bourne Free is a youth club for young people with physical and mental disabilities, based near Eastbourne. Members received £2,160 to hold a summer ball as they usually don't have the chance to take part in school prom nights. But when the young members started looking for appropriate venues, they found very few had good disability access, so they decided to book a marquee in the grounds of a school instead. They hired a DJ, photographer and caterers for the event, which had a High School Musical and Elvis theme. Able-bodied friends who had buddied up with the group on an earlier project also attended the ball. Group members went on to plan a residential break in May.

Dolly's Travelling Dolls - Four young women from the Traveller community put in a bid to help them plan a visit to London's O2 arena to see their idol Dolly Parton. "Dolly is god, she is our inspiration," they said in their application. "This is the best opportunity ever for us. We know it's a lot of money, but we are worth it. It will be kushti." The group's youth worker reported how important country and western music was to the girls and how much they identified with the life story of Dolly Parton, one of 12 children raised in poverty. The panel approved the bid, recognising the importance of this connection, and of music and role models. The group received AQA accreditation for their work in planning the trip.

Snowboarding - Young men from the deprived area of Rosback in Hastings applied for £2,000 to help them gain the experience of snowboarding on real snow. The application criteria precluded travel abroad, but using the internet at their local community centre the group researched locations in the UK and identified the possibility of travelling to Glenshee in Scotland. To make best use of available time, the group realised they would need to fly, so they planned the flights and accommodation online. The group received accreditation for their involvement in planning the trip. Feedback from the young people confirmed they learned not just new snowboarding techniques but also more about teamwork.