Do traditional youth work organisations hold the key to sustainability for 21st Century youth provision?

The proposed research examines reasons for the sustainability of The Guide Association (GA, formerly Girl Guide Association, founded in 1909), evaluating its role in the context of changing youth policy, financial austerity and reorganisation of UK youth provision. Based on historical documentary research nationally and locally and a qualitative study of guide units operating in North East England, this is a collaborative research project developed in partnership with Youth Focus North East (YFNE), a third sector 'hub' connecting young people, youth organisations and professionals.
The research will evaluate the informal education model of youth work adopted by GA (purposes, values, activities, impact), identifying lessons for other voluntary youth organisations and the youth sector as a whole at a time when youth provision is in serious decline. GA is currently thriving. It identifies itself as a feminist youth organisation and has maintained its position as girls only. It is unique in the UK as a national youth organisation that has actively rejected the mixed model of youth work and views itself as a feminist youth work agency. The research will consider the extent to which the GA is a feminist youth organisation, why it is so attractive to young women, what impact it has on their lives and what youth policymakers/practitioners can learn from the example of GA. The collaborative partner, Youth Focus North East, has a direct interest in this research as it links with current work examining alternative models of youth work as statutory provision is inserious decline.