Across the commissioning of a whole range of public services the “black box” approach is much in vogue. The concept is, at first glance, relatively simple. The commissioner, be it central or local government, is seeking a set of particular outcomes or solutions to particular social problems. They have a specified amount of money to commission services to address these and the proposition to the provider is “we don’t care how or what you deliver as long as you achieve the outcome” – hence the black box.
It’s like a magician’s trick. Throw the ingredients in to the black box and out comes a white dove… Of course, like all good magic, nothing is as simple as it might first appear. Take the black box approach that appears to be emerging around services for young people. Making that work requires a whole set of local conditions: the first thing would be strong local leadership and ambition because all our work tells us that without member and senior officer vision and drive you just get salami-slicing of ever-reducing budgets; the second thing is proper engagement not only of young people but also of the communities in which they live; the third is an understanding that procurement and commissioning are two different things and that real commissioning is a subtle art that requires a real understanding of needs and wants as well as the ability to capacity-build with local providers.
No black box approach could ever work without the commitment to building strong partnerships across a wide range of services and sectors to agree common goals and share resources effectively. There has to be a willingness to invest in the workforce at all levels and in robust mechanisms for quality assurance.
And the final ingredient? A commitment to open access provision, as well as any targeted services, because it can act as an invisible protective cloak around so many young people; and, even more importantly, a fundamental belief in the value and practice of youth work and youth work approaches.?
Fiona Blacke, chief executive, National Youth Agency
fionab@nya.org.uk
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