— CMS for target groups — Policy issues

Prague – 5-7 October 2009

WP1 members: Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal, Sweden, Slovenia, Slovakia, UK (Scotland).

1. Summarising/synthesising2. Refocusing in view of WP1 goals and outcomes:

- CMS focus- Policy focus

Policy Issues: CMS for special target groups

Key questions asked:[a] All citizens ‘need’ CMS (lifelong – hence ‘latent’ needs) – ... but do some groups have different CMS needs?

[b] Are there specific CMS delivery modes more appropriate for special target groups?

Identifying specific target groups for policy attention:- ‘Individual stories’ matter, but value of focus on groups - Target groups: persons with disability, ethnic minorities... But class, gender, lifestyle, faith impact on CMS content/delivery - Resources re CG for ex-inmates, refugees, young offenders, aging workers...

Locating CMS in Policy field

- Broader policy response to ‘diversity’: ‘assimilationist’ (melting pot); ‘multicultural’ (liberal & radical models)- Context: flows of people: colonial / post-colonial histories - Diversity as a ‘problem’: toleration, deficit, compensatory, normalisation... Focus on: change people.

- Diversity as a ‘right’ and a ‘resource’: shared house, common room, private space... Focus on: change system.- Monocultural/integrative guidance (linked concepts: cope, adapt, ‘essentialist’, ‘realism’...)- Intercultural guidance (linked concepts: empowerment, politics of voice, ‘hybridity’, ‘polyphonic’, advocacy...)- CMS programme: a ‘condensate’ of a particular world view: positions and defines the ‘target group’- Conceptualisation is important ... But Policy is the art of the possible: progressive policies/ regressive outcomes?

The ‘Language’ of CMS

The big ‘L’ of CMS (and of CG):- Notion of work as central to identity- Notion of ‘self’, ‘self-fulfilment’- Notion of self-determination, self-direction- Notion of self-efficacy- Notion of ‘selling oneself’ to maintain use value

Personal choices and skills: Knowing self, self-assessment, decision-making, acting in a diverse cultural

environment ... ... ...Links between education and work:Courses and job opportunities, requirements, career exploration, learning

skills ... ... ...The Labour market:Rights and duties at work, equal opportunities, values of different lifestyles

‘Policy’ and ‘Policy development’ Issues

• Important to adequately conceptualise the task• CMS not in isolation: ‘joined up’ policy and strategic approach• Groups may require a different set of CMS, delivered differently• Target groups may require advocacy, in addition to CMS• ‘Clients’ involved in identifying needs & own CMS programme• Need for ‘outreach’ programmes: connect with client realities• Multiple delivery modalities (‘guidance for guidance’)• NGOs often ahead of state – and closer to client groups • However: issues of resourcing, standards, sustainability...• Unreached groups• Lifelong dimension: needs evolve (e.g. development of a disability)• Adequate training of providers• Balance between ‘mainstream’ services, and targeted ones• Policy language accessible to users

• What components for a CMS programme for specific target groups? [common core? modified? different?]

• What programme design principles are suitable?

• What delivery modes are most suitable?