Evaluation of Positive Futures: report to Glasgow Inclusiveness Strategy Group

The Positive Futures ‘inclusiveness project’ aimed to establish strategic, operational and funding partnerships between the key agencies that engage with young people and provide key worker support through operational partnerships with a range of agencies. The evaluation aimed to: provide evidence of the success of the revised delivery model; and to inform the future direction of the key worker process in Glasgow.

The methodology consisted of: a review of strategic documents, the original bid for Positive Futures, statistical reports and management information; consultation with the Glasgow Inclusiveness Strategy Group; individual interviews with key stakeholders and the staff responsible for the development of the project; group and individual interviews with Key Workers; and telephone and face-to-face interviews with strategic partners, operational partners and referral agencies.

Describes Positive Futures as an innovative project model. The evidence to date shows that it is achieving success in engaging with young people. Suggests that the scale of the approved bid did not allow delivery of the proposed strategic framework and required the partners to revise its strategic priorities. Concludes that the main strengths of the model are the key worker approach and the development of strategic partners. There are a number of policy and operational developments at local and national level which will impact on the emerging priorities for Positive Futures.

Concludes that Positive Futures must be informed by local initiatives to ensure that local provision is ‘joined up’. At the strategic level, recommends that partners need to: work together to redefine strategic priorities and objectives in the context of available resources; develop an action plan; engage additional partners; review objectives for the thematic level; and develop delivery structures. At the operational level, suggests there is a need to: clarify the role of managers; develop protocols which describe the responsibilities of operational partners; improve the type of information collected and the ‘robustness’ of current information; and progress the principle of information sharing.