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Participation

We are keen to support organisations that are committed to enabling people to participate in the work that they do.

There are important reasons for doing this, which relate to the three levels on which PHF wishes to help bring about change - at the level of individuals and communities; at the level of organisations; at the level of policy and practice.

Why participation is important:

- Rights: In some cases, for example children and young people, participation rights are enshrined in Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child 
- Power: Opportunities to influence activities and services are often least available to marginalised groups and individuals 
- Social cohesion and social justice: Involving people in decision-making can help build better relationships, fairness and social capital
- Improved quality of services: Services that are informed and delivered in partnership with service-users have a better chance of being effective and meeting needs
- Governance: Involvement of people can help improve accountability, engagement, and decision-making.
- Capacity building: By embedding participation in their practice, organisations are more likely to develop in ways that benefit their communities, and participants will develop news skills and experiences

During the first stage of your application, we need you to be clear about why you want to involve people in your work. We would like you to briefly describe a means of involving people that is appropriate and realistic.

There is no 'one size fits all' approach to participation, but organisations should avoid tokenism and not equate 'consultation' with participation. Consultation is only one approach to participation, and there are many others that give people more influence in decisions being made.

Other resources

For a general guide to participation, see www.involve.org.uk

For practical resources to help plan and carryout participation with young people, see 'Listen and Change A Guide to Children and Young People's Participation Rights' ( http://www.participationworks.org.uk/resources/listen-and-change-a-guide-to-children-and-young-peoples-participation-rights) which can be downloaded from www.participationworks.org.uk