Routes to Community Success

Cornwall, Norfolk and West Northamptonshire are the three local test-bed areas for the Routes to Community Success programme, which aims to inform a model approach for boosting the capacity of the youth sector, through the co-design of services with young people and building the skills, capacity and resilience of grassroots providers.  

We will also deliver a nationwide strand that will engage with young people to help develop digital youth work provision.    

NYA was awarded £495,155 from the National Lottery Community Fund in 2023 to fund four delivery partners, and provide the support and expertise needed to facilitate effective engagement with young people. 

The lead organisations for Routes to Community Success are: 

• Cornwall Voluntary Sector Forum, County of Cornwall 
• The Benjamin Foundation in partnership with Momentum and the Swan Project,  Kings Lynn, West Norfolk and Breckland 
• West Northamptonshire Council, West Northamptonshire 
• National Youth Agency’s digital youth work team, digital development project 

Each area will receive seed funding from the Routes to Community Success programme to help leverage match funding to embark on their youth work development activities. A Community Lead for each locality will recruit 15 local Youth Ambassadors who will engage with young people across the area, to ensure that their needs and aspirations, relating to their local youth work offer, inform the development plans.  

Through the project at least eight local organisations in each locality will put in place organisational development plans, leading to training and capacity building opportunities, identified in partnership with the local young people who will benefit from their services.  

A participation worker is being recruited for the digital project to oversee the involvement of 15 Digital Youth Ambassadors, who will consult with young people in the eight areas to identify their wants and needs, undertake an analysis of what they find and recommend where digital could be developed in each area’s offer to enhance their offer.  

Youth Ambassadors will benefit from in-person training, mentoring and peer support drawing upon the expertise, tools and development frameworks of the NYA, to develop their knowledge of community engagement, youth voice and effective youth participation. The lottery funding is also enabling an independent evaluation of the programme  

An evaluation of the programme will measure the extent to which the quality of provision has been improved through youth participation and a more joined up approach by providers. The NYA will publish a final report in spring 2025 to help share the learning from the programme across the youth work sector.  

To find out more about the programme and how to get involved contact the relevant partner via their email, as follows: 

Cornwall 

Naomi Osmond, Community Lead, Cornwall Voluntary Sector Forum: Naomi.Osmond@cornwallvsf.org  

Norfolk 

Angela Teague, Community Lead, The Benjamin Foundation in partnership with Momentum and the Swan Project: Angela.Teague@benjaminfoundation.co.uk 

West Northamptonshire 

West Northamptonshire Council: enquiries.nbc@westnorthants.gov.uk

Digital 

Bex Perry, Digital Youth Work Development Manager, National Youth Agency: BexP@nya.org.uk