Previous Office for Youth A-Teams
The Office for Youth has run a number of A-Teams covering a wide range of different issues and topics. Below is an introductory paragraph, with a link to the final report, of each of those A-Teams.
Genevieve Bell A-Team (March 2009)
The Genevieve Bell A-Team, a partnership between the Office for Youth and the Adelaide Thinkers in Residence program in collaboration with the Information Economy Directorate DFEEST, concluded with a presentation of recommendations on Monday 23 March in Berri.
The A-Team made up of 10 young people from the Riverland presented their recommendations to approximately 70 government, community and industry members.
The challenge this A-Team faced was ‘How is the Riverland region using information technology to communicate?’
Recommendations from this A-Team included the development of a virtual hub for the Riverland as well as exploring how Riverland residents can access more educational courses through Information Technology.
You can read their final report here.
New and Emerging Communities A-Team (December 2008)
This A-Team looked at barriers to accessing training and employment for young people from new and emerging communities, and brought together 21 young people from government, universities, high schools and the private sector. In answering this question they investigated:
• What opportunities can support young people to achieve their potential in securing employment?
• How do we promote cultural diversity, raise awareness about issues affecting new and emerging communities? How do we provide equal opportunity for all?
• How do we ensure that individuals from new and emerging communities access good and consistent advice about learning and work opportunities?
• How can we ensure that new and emerging communities are able to fully access education and training opportunities?
This A-Team was championed by Mr Hieu Van Le, Lieutenant Governor of South Australia. Mr Le is also chairman of the South Australian Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs Commission (SAMEAC) having been a member of the SAMEAC since 1995, including three years as deputy chairman.
Recommendations from this A-Team included the provision of bilingual driving instructors for young people from CALD backgrounds and the development of a personal settlement book for young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds.
You can read their final report here.
Andrew Fearne A-Team (November 2008)
This was the first A-Team to focus solely on regional South Australia which brought together 18 young people from Government, universities, high schools and the private sector. The policy focus for this A-Team was engaging young people in sustainable value chains – communication, education and opportunities. In answering this question they investigated what different messages and methods of communication were most likely to succeed in:
• engaging young people in the sustainability debate
• encouraging more sustainable food consumption and purchasing behaviour amongst young people?
This A-Team was aligned with Adelaide Thinker in Residence Professor Andrew Fearne whose visit focused on raising awareness and increasing understanding amongst the South Australian community of the challenges and opportunities presented by global value chains.
During the program, the A-Team had the unique opportunity to work with Professor Andrew Fearne, participate in a series of mentoring sessions, speaker panels, field trips and facilitated discussions with experts in the field.
The A-Team culminated with two presentations with the final report provided to Professor Andrew Fearne to inform his recommendations on Food and Wine Value Chains: Prosperity through Collaboration.
You can read the final A-Team report here.
Where to? South Australia’s future – an A-Team perspective (June 2008)
During the first half of 2008 the OfY A-Team worked with Adelaide Thinker in Residence, Geoff Mulgan to develop ideas for the future of South Australia.
The A-Team participants consisted of three groups comprising
• 22 young people from government, university or community organisations
• 9 emerging artists studying at Adelaide Arts Education Centre
• 15 emerging filmmakers, coordinated by the Media Resource Centre.
Participants were divided into six sub-teams, all comprising of a mix of people from each of the group above. Each sub-team was then given an objective from the South Australian Strategic Plan and asked to develop innovative ideas for the future of SA in response to their objective.
The groups were given the space to think deeply about the future of the state and where they would like South Australia to be at a future point. Each was then asked to develop a single ‘idea for the future’ which had to be backed up with a rational strategy as to how it could be fulfilled. The young emerging artists and filmmakers were then given the opportunity to interpret their group’s ‘idea’ by developing a piece of artwork and a short film (2 minutes in length).
The A-Team concluded with an exhibition of their artwork at the History and Future of Social Innovation Conference at the University of SA on Friday 20 June. In his report entitled Innovation in 360 Degrees: Promoting Social Innovation in South Australia, Geoff Mulgan states that ‘with strong support from the very top, they [A-Teams] bring together young people from Government, universities, NGOs and business, to investigate pressing issues and come up with creative recommendations. As a device they signal that leaders are committed to innovation, as well as giving younger officials the chance to demonstrate their problem-solving abilities, and their skill in mobilising supporters both inside and outside government’ and you can read their final report here.
Young People Thinking About Family Business A-Team (August 2007)
This OfY A-Team looked at the future of family business in South Australia. Around 70 per cent of South Australian businesses are family businesses and this sector faces a range of unique challenges. Statistics suggest that only 32 per cent of such businesses survive to a second generation as young people leave to pursue their own ambitions, suffer the effects of poor succession planning or do not possess the same passion that drove their family to succeed.
With young people at the heart of the issue, this topic was ideally suited to the insightful problem-solving and fresh thinking provided by an OfY A-Team. The A-Team was made up of young people who worked in family business, government and universities, and was run during July and August 2007 while Dr Dennis Jaffe was Adelaide Thinker in Residence.
Dr Jaffe is a world renowned expert in the field of family business and was in South Australia to provide the government and the family business sector with ideas to develop family business in the state. His expertise lies particularly in the area of succession. The OfY A-Team focussed on overcoming the barriers to succession and combined the experience and knowledge of Dr Jaffe with the insight and dynamism of young people.
You can read their final report here.
SA Public Service A-Team – One Generation Away From Extinction? (June 2007)
Throughout May and June more than 30 young people from 12 government agencies were been involved in three A-Teams, looking at how the Government of South Australia could be made into an employer of choice for young people.
Kristy Byfield, DFEEST HR Consultant, saw the experience as valuable personal development. "The A-Team provided a unique opportunity to step away from the operational and get involved in developing recommendations and strategies that have the potential to influence the whole of SA Government. At the same time I got to build relationships with young professionals from across the Public Service," Kristy said.
The A-Teams presented their recommendations to senior government employees, including Chief Executives and Government Reform Commission (GRC) Commissioners in June 2007. The A-Team's report was also circulated to government agencies. Recommendations included ideas around improving and promoting flexible work practices and modernising recruitment methods.
You can read about the recommendations here.
Early Childhood Development A-Team (March 2007)
This A-Team was brought together during February and March 2007 to provide a youth perspective on the issue of early childhood development during Dr Fraser Mustard’s residence as an Adelaide Thinker.
The role of this A-Team was to develop a set of creative and practical recommendations in response to the focus question “Within the context of integrated service delivery, how do we engage young women with children from disadvantaged backgrounds to ensure they benefit from the Children’s Centres?”
This A-Team consisted of nine young people who work in state government and universities across a range of fields including education, health and mental health, families and communities, family services and employment.
At the culmination of the A-Team presented their five recommendations. Recommendations one to four provide building blocks for the development of quality Children’s Centres while the fifth recommendation focused on engaging young parents with children so that they benefit from the Children’s Centres. A report elaborating on these recommendations was also presented to Dr Fraser Mustard for his consideration and you can read that report here.
Roseanne Haggerty Homelessness A-Team (June 2006)
This A-Team was the pilot A-Team of the Office for Youth (OfY) in association with the Adelaide Thinkers in Residence Program.
Participants in the pilot project were young public sector employees from across seven agencies who shared their expertise and worked with Adelaide Thinker in Residence, Ms Rosanne Haggerty to develop well-considered recommendations for change on youth housing and homelessness.
Young participants were provided with a comprehensive support program during the pilot. This included training on policy fundamentals, conflict resolution and working in teams. Participants also had access to advice from senior figures.
The team worked with a panel made up from across-government and the non-government sector of key housing sector representatives. They also had access to and received advice from policy makers from a range of policy perspectives including senior figures such as Adam Graycar Head of Cabinet Office and Adelaide Thinker in Residence, Roseanne Haggerty.
You can read the report here.