Shift

Welcome to our new series, which focuses on the shift amongst youth organisations and funders towards sharing power with young people, drawing on our work with The Listening Fund which aims to make the youth sector more accountable to young people.In this episode we explain why we've made this podcast, give an overview of what we've learned about why and how organisations are involving young people in their work - with clips from some of the brilliant guests you'll hear from in the following six episodes.The co-hosts for this series are Mercy Shibemba, a young grantmaker and activist, and Jenny Ross from Collective Discovery.You can find all of the Listening Fund's resources, including blogs and practice papers on a range of topics here. You can also follow the Listening Fund on X @listeningfund.A series overview, more information on our guests, and additional resources on each topic can be found in the shownotes. For more on Collective Discovery, see our website and LinkedIn. We also welcome any feedback you have: please get in touch with us at collective@collectivediscovery.co.uk. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Youth organisations often work in partnership with young people to design their programmes and services - this is sometimes called co-production. In this episode we'll hear about the benefits and challenges of co-production and how three organisations have sought to embed the approach in their work and organisational culture. We spoke to:Alex Mckell, Head of innovation and trainer at Leap Confronting ConflictKate Russell, Head of Programmes and Network at the Foyer FederationGemma Rowan, co-Artistic Director of Sounds Like Chaos.This episode is part of our first series which builds on Collective Discovery's work as Learning Partner of the Listening Fund. You can find all of the Listening Fund's resources, including blogs and practice papers on a range of topics here. You can also follow the Fund on X @listeningfund.A series overview, more information on our guests, and additional resources on each topic can be found in the shownotes. For more on Collective Discovery, see our website or LinkedIn. We also welcome any feedback you have: please get in touch with us at collective@collectivediscovery.co.uk. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One of the ways youth organisations can ensure that their work is aligned with the priorities of young people is to actively involve them in their learning and evaluation processes - to ensure that their feedback informs the way their programmes and services are adapted. We spoke to: Dave Close, Director of Hot Chocolate Trust Jeni Stephens, Youth Work Manager at Carefree CornwallSarah Rose, a Social Purpose Consultant and part of the Collective Discovery teamKate Russell, Head of Programmes and Network at the Foyer FederationThis episode is part of our first series which builds on Collective Discovery's work as Learning Partner of the Listening Fund. You can find all of the Listening Fund's resources, including blogs and practice papers on a range of topics here. You can also follow the Fund on X @listeningfund.A series overview, more information on our guests, and additional resources on each topic can be found in the shownotes. For more on Collective Discovery, see our website or LinkedIn. We also welcome any feedback you have: please get in touch with us at collective@collectivediscovery.co.uk. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One of the ways youth organisations work in a consistent way with young people is by creating specific roles for them. In this episode, we will hear from three organisations that have involved young people in their work by creating different kinds of leadership and ambassador roles. We spoke to:Mark Powell, Artistic Director at Prime TheatreVicki Felgate, Co-Founder of Big Leaf Foundation. Luwam, Youth Ambassador for Kent Refugee Action Network. This episode is part of our first series which builds on Collective Discovery's work as Learning Partner of the Listening Fund. You can find all of the Listening Fund's resources, including blogs and practice papers on a range of topics here. You can also follow the Fund on X @listeningfund.A series overview, more information on our guests, and additional resources on each topic can be found in the shownotes. For more on Collective Discovery, see our website or LinkedIn. We also welcome any feedback you have: please get in touch with us at collective@collectivediscovery.co.uk. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One of the ways that youth organisations work in a more consistent way with young people is to create structures for engagement and/or sharing power. In this episode, we will hear from four organisations that have created different kinds of structures to enable them to involve young people more actively in their work. We spoke to:Cecilia Cappel, Participation and Engagement Manager at Spark InsideKerry Hunter, NNDYC Co-ordinator and Neurodiversity Specialist and Teacher who supported the National Neurodiverse Youth Council Italia Jenson (or Talie), Head of Youth Engagement at The MixEugene Hilton, Community and Content manager at We Don't SettleThis episode is part of our first series which builds on Collective Discovery's work as Learning Partner of the Listening Fund. You can find all of the Listening Fund's resources, including blogs and practice papers on a range of topics here. You can also follow the Fund on X @listeningfund.A series overview, more information on our guests, and additional resources on each topic can be found in the shownotes. For more on Collective Discovery, see our website or LinkedIn. We also welcome any feedback you have: please get in touch with us at collective@collectivediscovery.co.uk. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One of the ways that youth organisations and funders can involve young people in their work is to invite them to be part of their governance structure and become a trustee. In this episode we will hear about the role of young trustees from a range of perspectives.We spoke to:Natasha Johnson, a Blagrave Trust Young Advisor and board member of the British Youth Council.Segun Olowooke, Chair of the Blagrave Trust BoardClare Hill-Dixon, CEO of the Young Trustees Movement.And Eli Manderson Evans, CEO of the Blagrave Trust.This episode is part of our first series, looking at the work Collective Discovery is doing as Learning Partner of the Listening Fund. You can find all of the Listening Fund's resources, including blogs and practice papers on a range of topics here. You can also follow the Fund on X @listeningfund.A series overview, more information on our guests, and additional resources on each topic can be found in the shownotes. For more on Collective Discovery, see our website or LinkedIn. We also welcome any feedback you have: please get in touch with us at collective@collectivediscovery.co.uk. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There is a growing involvement of young people in youth funders' grantmaking. We hear about how this can work in practice, and the benefits and challenges from the perspectives of two young grantmakers, a funder, and a facilitator of youth involvement in grantmaking processes. Plus we'll hear some top tips for funders working with young people.We spoke to:Dan Seifu from the Involving Young People Collective of the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation. Neha Bhayani, one of Blagrave Trust's grants advisors, working on the Listening Fund. Edd Fry, who manages the Listening Fund on behalf of the Blagrave TrustKeji Okeowo from Hudl Youth Development Agency.This episode is part of our first series which builds on Collective Discovery's work as Learning Partner of the Listening Fund. You can find all of the Listening Fund's resources, including blogs and practice papers on a range of topics here. You can also follow the Fund on X @listeningfund.A series overview, more information on our guests, and additional resources on each topic can be found in the shownotes. For more on Collective Discovery, see our website or LinkedIn. We also welcome any feedback you have: please get in touch with us at collective@collectivediscovery.co.uk. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sharing and ceding power to young people can be challenging for organisations and the people who work within them. In this episode we hear from three very different organisations that have made a clear commitment to sharing power with young people. We hear about how they adopted new structures and processes to support power sharing as their organisation grew. We spoke to:Catherine Hillis, Director of the Fairer Futures Programme, Esmée Fairbairn FoundationAnne-Marie Douglas and Nicola Kidston, Co-CEOs of Peer Power YouthMichael Lister, Chair of the Mix's Youth Advisory BoardThis episode is part of our first series which builds on Collective Discovery's work as Learning Partner of the Listening Fund. You can find all of the Listening Fund's resources, including blogs and practice papers on a range of topics here. And here's further reading on consent-based decision-making.A series overview, more information on our guests, and additional resources on each topic can be found in the shownotes. For more on Collective Discovery, see our website or LinkedIn. We also welcome any feedback you have: please get in touch with us at collective@collectivediscovery.co.uk. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Young people are leading organisations and taking different approaches to decision-making and power sharing which all organisations can learn from. In this episode we hear from four young people leading organisations about the challenges they face and how they think older people can support them. We spoke to:Sophie Mattholie, Trustee, the LUNA project. Scott Kirby, Organiser, UK Youth Climate Coalition. Ze Ze Sohawon, CEO, Emotional Dysregulation in Autism.Samuel Remi-Akinwale, CEO, Young Manchester.This episode is part of our first series which builds on Collective Discovery's work as Learning Partner of the Listening Fund. You can find all of the Listening Fund's resources, including blogs and practice papers on a range of topics here. If you found this episode useful, you might want to read this blog: Blog: What I've learned from 6 months of co-leadership.A series overview, more information on our guests, and additional resources on each topic can be found in the shownotes. For more on Collective Discovery, see our website or LinkedIn. We also welcome any feedback you have: please get in touch with us at collective@collectivediscovery.co.uk. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There are many different ways to involve young people in an organisation's work. We hear how four very different organisations tried to ensure their support for young people's leadership was equitable and inclusive and how they addressed questions of accountability, representation and responsibility. We spoke to:Martha Mackenzie, Executive Director, Civic Power Fund Nicky Crabb, Director, Little Green Pig Tanya Nelson, Youth Empowerment and Project Lead, Sister System Biff, Senior Youth Work Practitioner, Gendered Intelligence. This episode is part of our first series which builds on Collective Discovery's work as Learning Partner of the Listening Fund. You can find all of the Listening Fund's resources, including blogs and practice papers on a range of topics here. A series overview, more information on our guests, and additional resources on each topic can be found in the shownotes. For more on Collective Discovery, see our website or LinkedIn. We also welcome any feedback you have: please get in touch with us at collective@collectivediscovery.co.uk. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When organisations involve young people in their work and share power with them, the focus is sometimes on how this impacts on the organisation. In contrast, in this episode we explore why young people get involved, how they benefit and how organisations can support them to progress and move on whether that's within the organisation or to opportunities outside. We spoke to:Sophie Mattholie, Listening Fund Young AdvisorTanya Nelson, Youth Empowerment and Project Lead, Sister SystemJonno Mambu, Spark Inside ChampionNicky Crabb, Director, Little Green Pig This episode is part of our first series which builds on Collective Discovery's work as Learning Partner of the Listening Fund. You can find all of the Listening Fund's resources, including blogs and practice papers on a range of topics here. If you found this episode useful, you might want to read this blog: Blog: Listening to staff with lived experience.A series overview, more information on our guests, and additional resources on each topic can be found in the shownotes. For more on Collective Discovery, see our website or LinkedIn. We also welcome any feedback you have: please get in touch with us at collective@collectivediscovery.co.uk. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jenny Ross and Mercy Shibemba introduce our second series, which explores the role of changemakers—people working at every level of the system, from grassroots community action to global movements. What connects them is a commitment to shifting power, building connection, and responding practically and hopefully to the challenges the world is facing.These conversations are honest, inspiring and full of insight—exploring what drives changemakers, the obstacles they navigate, and what keeps them going.You can find full show notes at collectivediscovery.co.uk/shift. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Domestic abuse can affect anyone, and its impact on children and families can be profound. In this very moving episode, Jenny Ross speaks with Jo Baldwin from the Oasis Domestic Abuse Service in Thanet, who works with children and young people affected by abuse.We hear about the heroic efforts of mothers caring for their children while navigating abuse, the courage of young people finding their voice, and the life-changing support Oasis provides—from therapeutic recovery to creating a sense of belonging. Jo also reflects on the systemic challenges families face, and the hope, resilience, and connection that can help them heal.Please note, this episode includes discussion of domestic abuse. If you are in Kent or Medway and need support, you can contact the Oasis Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0800 917 9948. Or call the 24 hour National Domestic Abuse helpline on 0808 2000 247. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Through guerrilla dance performances on beaches, high streets, shopping centres, and public spaces, groups of older women are taking dance out into the world—playfully and powerfully disrupting assumptions and inviting audiences to see ageing differently.In this joyous and inspiring episode, Jenny Ross from Collective Discovery speaks with Sian Stevenson, Creative Director of Moving Memory Dance Theatre Company, about a very different story of ageing—one of creativity, connection, power, and joy. We explore how movement and performance can build confidence, challenge stereotypes, and celebrate the strength and resilience of older women.For more on Collective Discovery, see our website or LinkedIn. We welcome feedback at collective@collectivediscovery.co.uk. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Many older people are isolated and overlooked, and live in conditions that are hard to imagine—sometimes without heating, proper food, or basic household necessities.In this powerful episode, Jenny Ross speaks with Vanessa Wood, CEO of Age UK Thanet, whose team works tirelessly to connect older people to their communities, counter loneliness, and support wellbeing.We hear about the eye-opening challenges older people face, the dedication of Vanessa and her colleagues, and the hope and resilience that comes from meaningful connection and care.This conversation is both moving and inspiring, showing how committed changemakers running targeted interventions can completely transform people's lives.For more on Collective Discovery, see our website or LinkedIn. We welcome feedback at collective@collectivediscovery.co.uk. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After school, the door opens and children tumble in—dropping their bags, grabbing toast, and filling the room with chatter about their day. They let off steam, feel safe, and simply be themselves, with space to play freely.At the Pavilion Youth and Community Café in Broadstairs, these small, everyday moments help confidence grow, friendships form, and vital life skills take shape.In this episode, Jenny Ross visits founder Victoria Suchak, who has created a place many describe as feeling like home, in what was previously a dilapidated and abandoned old cricket pavilion in a public park.Victoria shares how the youth club began, what it takes to sustain it, and why spaces where young people feel known and valued matter so much.Her story is a reminder that meaningful change often happens through quiet determination and a deep understanding of what people need.For more on Collective Discovery, see our website or LinkedIn. We welcome feedback at collective@collectivediscovery.co.uk. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.