North Lincolnshire's young people set to benefit from our app

For many years now I have been hosting co-production sessions with care experienced young people. The latest was with a great group of North Lincolnshire council’s young people who are set to benefit from our Care Leavers App. The app they can access 24/7 for helpful information, advice and guidance on areas of life such as money, housing and relationships.

The room was full of different characters with varying opinions and it’s always so interesting to hear what these are, how they differ from previous groups and why. We may be there to talk about apps, design, logos, icons, colours, fonts and all of the topics you’d expect us to cover if we’re going to put an app together that they’ll like and want to use. Inevitably though there is always chit-chat here and there which surprisingly, is still helping to form the app. The more I get to know what the app end users are like, the more I can understand what it is they want.

I’m so fortunate to meet people whose paths I’d never cross if it wasn’t for my job. Covid sparked a transition from in-person engagement to communication via video call. The use of digital technology for these sessions creates an opportunity to engage a wider cohort of people for whom travelling can be difficult and time-consuming or those who find face to face meetings resource-intensive or anxiety-inducing. The downside to video calling is that as the room gets more lively and people have more to say (at the same time), the less I catch.

This is one of the reasons why I’m always working on improving my sessions as they are powered by the enthusiasm of the participants. So I have put together some tips on how to encourage engagement and get the most out of participants. These may be helpful for anyone with similar responsibilities to mine and they will also give prospective partners an idea of how these sessions go.

- When introducing yourself consider what is actually interesting to participants and relevant to the project

- Adopt a friendly tone, the more personable you are, the more people naturally want to share their thoughts with you

- Keep it brief. Many say young people have a low attention span but let’s be honest, don’t most people? We all lead busy lives and are keen to achieve as much as we can in the time given. So I’d recommend aiming for an hour that will likely spill over by 30 minutes or so

- Provide visuals where possible to increase stimulation and help transition smoothly between topics

- Consider your use of language especially when dealing with those who are considered vulnerable. They may like to be referred to in a particular way. For example "Care experienced" appears to be phasing out "Care leaver"

- Make an effort to learn names, not only will it help you control the room but it is courteous and is a way of recognising them. Just don’t over-do it when it comes to using them

- Ensure they feel heard, acknowledge their input and gently praise them for it

- Express gratitude, make sure they know you value their time and appreciate their suggestions

As great as video calling is for getting people together, it cannot replace the connection that is formed in person so replicating this as much as possible is crucial to successful co-production.