Regeneration through innovation

At the Regeneration Through Innovation APPG (All-Party Parliamentary Group) charities, trade associations, businesses and Parliamentarians come together to discuss innovative solutions to disadvantage, deprivation and social cohesion while raising awareness and encouraging dialogue in parliament and government.

An APPG is an informal group of MPs who are interested in a specific topic or subject and want to raise the profile of this issue in Parliament.

Catch22’s Digital Marketing Intern attended, here’s his account of the meeting.

At the Regeneration Through Innovation APPG Catch22’s Rosie Chadwick, Director of Public Affairs, Policy and Innovation, talked about some of Catch22’s innovative youth projects.

Community Space Challenge is a national programme through which young volunteers carry out tasks in their community. While improving their social skills and taking on a role within their communities they turn around neglected spaces by graffiti cleaning, litter picking and tree planting.

One particular Catch22 project that really captured the Parliamentarian’s imaginations was Auto22, a social enterprise mechanic’s garage and apprenticeship scheme.

There was extensive discussion on the effectiveness of these types of schemes including re-offending and re-employment rates and the logistics of rolling projects like these out nationwide. Parliamentarians were interested to learn about how the programme impacted upon local businesses. Rosie explained:

‘We do not aim to damage local businesses, but give local communities an alternative option that provides young people with new skills, new job opportunities and will run like any other competitive business.

With entrepreneurship becoming a buzz word for young people struggling during the recession, programmes such as these not only offer to teach young people the technical skills required to find work, but also give them the business acumen to create their own job opportunities in a time where very little is on offer.’

Other schemes included Founder and Chief Executive, Mick May’s ‘Blue Sky’ Development and Regeneration programme, which employs ex-offenders and offers them a job in grounds maintenance and other related areas over a six month period. His company was described by David Cameron as 'the only company in the country where you need a criminal record to work there'!

The Regeneration through Innovation APPG was a great success for Catch22 and it was clear to see that voices were being heard. It seems that the overall consensus for the afternoon was that innovative ideas combined with training and an entrepreneurial spirit were important aspects in helping young people move on.