How does The Agency work?
Methodology
The first 12-week cycle uses a theatre-based creative methodology to help participants to develop their ideas starting from their desire for change in their local areas. The aim of this cycle is for Agents to take an idea based on a need they identify in their community; articulate it; defend it; and find support for it through different networks.
Each programme focuses on…
INNOVATIVE IDEA GENERATION
Developing ideas and expanding their notions of what’s possible through creative workshops.
SOCIAL IMPACT
Each project needs to highlight and address a specified need identified by young people in their communities.
RESEARCH AND CONSULTATION
Every project needs to consult with communities and obtain 50 signatures before it is pitched for funding from The Panel.
NETWORKING
Identifying and opening up local networks, using creativity to build networking skills
DEVELOPING AN ENTREPRENEURIAL MINDSET
The key to success is resourcefulness in running their own projects but also in future careers and education.
Support
Agents receive a stipend for taking part which helps to counterbalance hidden privileges of being able to take part in unpaid work, helps with travel and food, and provides disposable income for them to spend on themselves and their projects. At the end of this cycle, young people pitch their ideas to a panel of industry experts who decide upon three projects that will move onto Cycle 2, receiving £2,000 of seed funding and an additional 16 weeks of support. Agents who are not awarded funding for their projects are encouraged to join other successful projects to stay engaged.
Agent’s projects
The ideas which are developed through The Agency are as diverse in form (boxing, fashion, art, food) as the communities they tap in to (young carers, young offenders, refugees). It is a human-centred, personalised model which begins with each and every young person’s desire and follows their lead. This approach is radical in a context where the subsidised cultural sector’s offer can sometimes be narrow and prescriptive and where mainstream education’s ‘one size fits all’ approach doesn’t always work.
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Key outcomes
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Networks
100% of Agents improved their networks by an average of three times the number of contacts listed at the beginning of the project. This includes new networks and people they may have known before but did not realise could be helpful to their projects.
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Facilitator assessment presentation skills
87% of Agents improved their presentation skills according to facilitator perceptions by an overall average of 50%.
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Networking skills
78% of Agents improved their networking skills by an overall average of 10%.
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Creative problem-solving skills
82% of Agents improved their creative problem-solving skills by an overall average of 14%.
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Management skills
75% of Agents improved their project management skills by an overall average of 16%.
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Presentation skills
81% of Agents improved their presentation skills by an overall average of 37%.
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Agency/Self efficacy
87% had an increased sense of agency which improved by an overall average of 10%.
Organisational change
This has included what people think the organisations are for, and the way they interact with their neighbours. Running The Agency has enabled organisations to truly listen to their communities, to support their ideas and forge genuine partnerships with the people and organisations who live on our doorsteps. A number of Agents have gone on to work in roles at these organisations, become trustees or have taken on key leadership roles in their community as a result of their involvement in the programme. As The Agency continues to grow in the UK and in Brazil, an international youth-led movement is emerging. We are developing a global network – which connects young people who are usually not afforded the opportunities to travel, learn, think and share – to work together to address global sustainable development goals. We want this international network of young change makers to come together, share ideas and develop practical solutions for long-lasting change. These solutions are born from lived experience; developed with local communities; and have the power to make lasting, global impact.