Being clear about purpose

(The following represents Nigel Fenner's personal views, rather than those of Hertfordshire PASS.)

I am becoming more and more convinced that being clear about the purpose of a meeting, or event or organisation is key - if the vulnerable, or disenfranchised, or for that matter anyone taking part, are to take up a meaningful role.

Without clarity of purpose it is no surprise powerful individual(s) exert influence on what is going on. Often this is done with the best of intentions, and the results are often very good, and for all those taking part, there is often relief that someone strong, assertive and charismatic is leading. However in the work that I'm involved in, where we endeavour to build capacity in young disabled people to run their own work preparation programme ( - see http://www.hertspass.com/ ), it is no surprise 'how meetings, events and organisations are run and managed', is up for scrutiny.

Hertfordshire PASS is currently planning for the visit of a high ranking government minister to our offices, who wants to see the apprenticeship scheme we operate with and for young disabled people. The visit has been set up by another charity with a national brief striving to enable more disabled young people to access education.

Whilst the purpose of the visit may appear obvious, in dialogue with this charity, we have identified a number of potential agendas that the visit will not have time to fully cover. We at Hertfordshire PASS believe very strongly the 3 apprentices should have a closed meeting with the minister 'to give opportunity for PASS's apprentices to share their experiences of being an apprentice, and as a result of these experiences explore what might be done to enable more disabled young people to take up apprenticeships'.

Such a purpose obviously restricts what the charity we are working with can contribute to the visit, as well as other partners involved in the apprenticeship scheme, such as the local college. It also limits what Hertfordshire PASS might do to raise its profile more generally in showcasing its other work and staff. With this in mind we are planning a short meeting with the minister to follow the closed meeting with the apprentices, to share our experiences - as organisations - in contributing towards the apprenticeship programme.

Of course none of the above accounts for what the government minister believes the purpose of the visit is. However if we're not clear about the purpose as we understand it, it will be no surprise the government minister will fill the vacuum by taking up the 'strong, assertive and charismatic' role of the powerful we want to avoid.

Finally, I believe that unless the purpose of a meeting, event or organisation is worked on to ensure it is clear, explicit and acted on, it is very difficult for 'disabled people' to shake off this label and take up a different role, such as 'apprentice', and 'shaper' of government policy and practice we hope will occur when the government minister comes visiting.