What’s the training about?

Age Friendly Calderdale and Calderdale Council have teamed up with Ideas Alliance to deliver a training programme to support people working with older people or provide valuable support in Calderdale to develop their skills in involving older people in the Age Friendly programme. We are keen that older people contribute to the decisions that affect them and have spaces and outlets through which they can actively engage in discussions about the Age Friendly programme’s ambitions and direction.

We know that loads of great consultation work happens in Calderdale and that older people’s voice is a key part of many organisations and groups work. This training programme wants to build on this. It has been designed to focus on techniques for engagement that are more ‘co-productive’ and seek to involved older people more actively in decision-making. The training will enhance participants’ existing skills, providing some new tools to add to their repertoire and supporting attendees to think about how they can adapt different techniques to their existing work and volunteering roles. It will also provide an opportunity for discussion and reflection on local issues, challenges and successes pertinent to involving older people in the Age Friendly programme.

The training will be a mixture of presentations, group and individual practical activities, discussions and Q&A. Pssst… we’ll try to make it fun too!

Sounds interesting - tell me more!

5 x 2-hour online sessions will be held that cover the following topics:

• Session 1 – An introduction to citizen participation (2pm – 4pm, 2/11/22) This workshop explores core elements of citizen participation and its role in Calderdale’s Age Friendly programme. It will cover key concepts, facilitation techniques and provide participants the opportunity to map existing skills, resources and capacities in the area.

• Session 2 – Techniques for…setting the agenda (2pm – 4pm, 9/11/22) This workshop will explore techniques for working with older people as active participants in setting agendas. In this session, we will look at techniques such as Horizon Mapping, Appreciative Inquiry and Open Space Technology. We’ll examine how you may use them in your work or community context.

• Session 3 – Techniques for… conversations (2pm – 4pm, 16/11/22) This workshop explores techniques for engaging in older people in conversations as part of decision-making and on-going listening activities. It will cover techniques such as Conversation & World Cafes, Fishbowl, Ideas & Feedback Stations and Citizen Jurys. There’ll also be a chance for you to think about how these techniques can be tweaked to make them suitable for your own context.

• Session 4 – Techniques for… decision-making (2pm – 4pm, 23/11/22) This workshop explores techniques for working directly with older people to make decisions. It will cover approaches such as Participatory Budgeting, Citizen Assemblies and Consensus Voting. We’ll also look at how these can be adapted to suit Calderdale and its age friendly ambitions.

• Session 5 – Putting your skills into practice (2pm – 4pm, 30/11/22) This final workshop will give you space to plan how you can put the skills and know-how from sessions 1 – 4 into practice, with the older people that you work with. We will look at how this can fit into the wider Age Friendly objectives in Calderdale and what support might be available to you.

Sessions will be held on Zoom and ideally, we’d like attendees to attend all 5 sessions – however, if there’s one you can’t make or need to dip out of one early, then we can work around that!

Who is the training for?

The training is for anyone living and/or working in Calderdale that is in a position through their existing work, community connections and/or volunteering to enhance older people’s participation in decision-making for the Age Friendly Calderdale programme. This could include (but not limited to):

• Professionals in third sector organisations/NGOs working in Calderdale with older people (e.g., housing associations, age-related support services, forums etc.)

• Statute employees across local authority and health who work with/for older people

• Existing Community Engagement and/or COVID Champions who want to upskill

• Volunteers who want to actively champion older people’s voice in decision-making in Calderdale

Places are limited. We are limiting participation to 2 people per organisation, department or Community Group. Please only apply if you fully intend to attend the workshops.

Why should I attend?

That’s a good question! Through the training you’ll have the opportunity to:

1. Develop engagement and facilitation skills you can directly apply in your work and/or volunteering

2. Learn about different techniques and how they can be adapted to work well in Calderdale

3. Explore different resources and tools available to you in engaging older people in decision-making

4. Troubleshoot issues and problems you are encountering in engaging older people in decision-making activities

You’ll also have the opportunity to apply for FREE coaching sessions following the training to help you to implement some of the skills and know-how from the programme with the older people you work with.

Who will be delivering the training?

The sessions will be led by Hayley Trowbridge from Ideas Alliance. Hayley’s career working with communities to effect positive social change, began as a Volunteer at a media training centre for adults with learning disabilities in her hometown of Wigan in 2006. Since then, she has worked with people, groups and organisations to dismantle hierarchies, find more equitable ways of working and to address social and cultural inequalities. Hayley will be using her diverse experience to top-up your existing skills and capacities, sharing with you her learning from working with communities across the UK and Europe.

Ideas Alliance specialises in using collaborative and community-based approaches to build bridges between communities and organisations. help with Their work helps to shift cultures and stimulates social action and participation. You can find more about Ideas Alliance here: https://ideas-alliance.org.uk

Is there anyting else I need to know?

• Workshops will be held online, on Zoom. Details will be sent to you upon registration.

• Registration closes 5pm, 21st October. If places sell out before this date, please add your name to the waitlist in case places become available.

• All resources used in the sessions will be sent to attendees following the sessions, but we recommend you bring some note-taking material to the workshop with you.

• Sessions WILL NOT be recorded.

• Places are limited. Please only register if you can attend all (or at least most of) the sessions.

From consultation to co-production: Participation and engagement workshops