Friday, 17 April 2009
Introduction to the Outreach-Case Study from the city of
Göteborg
In order to get an understanding of the concept in which Backa Base and Young & Save
Collaboration are operating we like to start with an introduction of Göteborg and its
political organisation.
Göteborg is located on the West coast of Sweden, where Göta Älv, the river from lake
Vänern, meets the sea. It is Sweden's second largest city with a population of just about
half a million. The city of Göteborg occupies an area of 449 sq. km.
The Göteborg region has developed favourably in the past ten-year period. The
adjustment from industrial production to service production has not gone as quickly in
Göteborg as in Malmö and above all in Stockholm. The manufacturing industry is still
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central to the development of the Göteborg region and works together with the growing
service business as a motor in the West Swedish economy.
Sustainable development is a basic assumption in the City Council budget and pervades
the daily work of the City’s activities. Sustainable development is based on a balanced
use of resources in the three dimensions of sustainability, the financial, the social and the
environmental.
The City's activities offer the citizens of Göteborg and others support and service in a
large number of important areas. The City has a general responsibility for education,
town planning, family matters, public health, consumer guidance, culture and recreation,
the environment, public transport, social services, licensing business, security and
preparedness, and care of the elderly.
Political Organisation
Here you can get an idea of the fairly decentralized organisation of the municipality:
City Council
the supreme decision making body of
the municipality
City
Executive
Board i
City Office
staff and service
organisation
the “government”
21 District Committees
Special Committees
Companies
Pre-school, compulsory school, social
services, community care, local cultural
affairs and leisure
Education Committee, Adult Education
Committee, Leisure Sports and
Associations Committee, Social
Resource Committee.
…..
Properties and Housing
Industry and Commerce
Public Works, Culture, Leisure,
Traffic……….
21 District Committees
The 21 district committees were introduced in 1990 in order to decentralise the political
decisions in the city. The main purpose of the district committees is to promote the
democratic influence over the city’s activities and ensure that the people of Göteborg
obtain the services they need.
The district committees make political decisions about basic compulsory education, care
of the elderly, child welfare, local culture, local recreation, social support and support for
the functionally impaired. The members of the councils of the district committees are
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appointed by the City Council and are proportional to the number of votes for the whole
city. The City employs about 45,000 people out of which about 32,000 work in the
district committees.
Individual and family care
The ultimate responsibility to ensure that people in the city get the support and assistance
they need is regulated by the Social Services Act. The net cost of the activities in the
population frame was about 2.4 billion SEK.
Financial Assistance
In 2007 the final figure for financial assistance was 75 MEuro, which meant a reduction
of 8 MEuro compared with the previous year. The number of households and young
people that have had a long-term need of income support has declined more than
expected. Over 1,100 fewer households have financial assistance every month. It is above
all increased demand for labour in the Göteborg area and the activation and rehabilitation
work of the social services office, focused on working life, that have contributed to the
substantial reduction. The greatest changes have been registered in the districts that
traditionally are most burdened by a high cost of income support. Since the late 2008 the
downturn of the economy has become obvious and for 2009 we expect an increase of
financial assistance of about 10 MEuro.
Alternative accommodation
In 2008 the cost increases for alternative accommodation, totalling 35 MEuro. The
cooperation agreement between the City of Göteborg and property owners regulates the
supply of municipal contracts. In 2008, 318 new households obtained contracts via the
property management department, which is 56 fewer than the previous year. However,
there is still a shortage of flats in ordinary blocks of flats.
Efforts concerning children and young adults
The number of reports of children and young people continues to rise in total, up to 60
per cent in some districts. At the same time it is difficult to recruit experienced social
workers to this heavy exercise of authority. The service continues to develop various
forms of structured support schemes and home ground solutions, effected in the young
person’s immediate surroundings in order to avoid institutional care. The number of
institutional care days for children and young people was 70 348 in 2007, which meant a
reduction of almost 6,000 care days since the previous year. There is a worrying
development in the districts of the number of young adults with complex misuse patterns.
The number of institutional care days for adults was 60 622, a rise of 3 500 care days. In
2007 a new investigation was made of drug habits in all Göteborg’s ninth year classes
and in year two at upper secondary school. More and more young people forgo alcohol
altogether. On the other hand, there are more that consume intensively or get drunk at
least once a month. This applies to almost half the pupils at upper secondary school.
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Unemployment rate
In March 2009 the unemployment rate for young people in the age up to 25 is about 3000
or 6 percent of the population I that age group. The numbers are increasing rapidly due to
the downturn of economy.
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The Young & Safe Collaboration
City of Göteborg
Case Study
By Kojo Ansah-Pewudie
May 2009
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Introduction and Problem description
Young & Safe Collaboration is an initiative taken by the political leadership of the City
of Göteborg with the aim of preventing young people from being recruited into criminal
gangs and to generally prevent juvenile delinquencies.
In 2004 the Police Authority in the Göteborg region came out with a report on crime and
criminal gangs in the region. The report indicated that juvenile crime was on the increase
in the region. They also highlighted that vulnerable teenagers were easily falling prey to
criminal gangs. The Police indicated at the same time that a holistic approach that
demanded collective efforts from all organisations working with young people was
needed to tackle the burning issue of teenage crime. Based on the Police report and the
call for a holistic approach to tackling youth crime, the political leadership of the City of
Göteborg decided to summon all concerned youth authorities in the city to find a
workable approach to solving the problems raised by the Police. After a series of
meetings with concerned authorities Young & Safe Collaboration was established in the
2004.
Lead members
The leading collaborative partners in the Young & Safe initiative was initially limited to
four of the 21 city districts in Göteborg including the Regional Police Authority, the
Education Department, the Swedish Prosecution Authority and the Framtiden Group (the
corporate body of the city’s owned housing companies). In 2005, all 21 city districts were
offered to be part of Young & Safe and in 2007 the suburban town of Mölndal became a
lead member of the partnership. Other stakeholders who have in different ways
contributed to the work of Young & Safe Collaboration include the civil society and the
business community with companies like ESAB and ICA playing important roles.
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Fig. 1
Organisation and development Process
Prior to the establishment of Young & Safe Collaboration the city’s political leadership
together with heads of the Police, the Prosecutor’s office, the Education department and
the housing companies had a series of meetings to decide on the form and modus
operandi of the purported collaboration. The final outcome of these meetings was to
create a secretariat where all partners would be represented with the mandate to facilitate
the collaboration. To this end, a group of five people representing the collaborators were
employed to constitute the secretariat. The group was increased to nine members after the
first year when a decision was taken to include all 21 city districts. The heads of the
partner organisations formed the steering group for the partnership under which the
secretariat was to operate. After the increase from 4 districts to 21, it became apparent
that having all the heads of the 21 districts in a steering group would be rather
cumbersome in terms of expediency in decision making, considering the demographic
composition of the districts. This led to the division of the city into four “Young & Safe
regions” with each region forming a steering group consisting of local heads of the
partner organisations, see fig 1.
Vision
To facilitate the collaboration, the political leadership gave a clear vision and a set of
guiding principles to direct the work of the partnership. The vision as envisaged is that
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the partnership works for the transformation of Göteborg to "a city where its youth have
a sense of safety, the belief of a better future and the right of participation."
Guiding Principles
Three principles were outlined to guide the partnership;
 The individual’s problems and circumstances should be the focal point
 New and more effective working relations between authorities and organisations
should be developed with the aim of providing vulnerable young people positive
alternatives and better opportunities
 An atmosphere of transparency and trust should permeate the working
relationship of all involved
Action Plan
In addition to the guiding principles, various action plans and initiatives were to be taken,
based on the following;
 Early and swift measures to be taken when a young
person commits a crime
 Job Creation and Housing
 Narcotic Free Districts
 School Development
 Strengthening the parents
The action plans are based on two principles;
1. Preventive measures
 A long term preventive work by strengthening primary and high schools,
providing good recreational activities and the creation of job opportunities
 Early and effective measures when a child or young person gets into trouble
2. When the undesirable happens
 Quick, effective and high quality measures are to be taken when a young person is
arrested.
 Long term supportive measures, with the intent of getting the individual to
become a normal law abiding citizen.
Methodology and Practical Approach
Collaboration is the act of working jointly towards a common goal. The challenging task
is how do independent public authorities with defined assignments and budgets work
together towards a common goal of preventing juvenile crime? It might be worth
mentioning at this juncture that there was no separate clear cut funding allocated to
initiate subsequent activities. Each partner was expected to contribute to agreed activities
as and when they were initiated within the framework of respective organisations’ budget
and resources. The only identifiable central finance to the partnership was the running of
the facilitating body namely the Secretariat which is financed by the Framtiden Group.
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Fig. 2
As a first step to finding ways of working together, it was important; from the onset that
approval was gained among the rank and file of all concerned within respective
organisations. Towards this end, meetings were arranged where top and middle level
management from all partner organisations within a district were invited. After gaining
approval from leaders of the partner organisations a bigger workshop was organised
where all stakeholders within a district were invited. At these workshops the “Future
Workshop” method was used, this method allows all gathered to first present perceived
problems in a structured order. By the end of the workshop a number of cases are
identified where groups are created representing a cross section of organisations present.
These groups are then assigned to work further with the cases on agreed timelines to be
presented on a later date. The cases give rise to collaboration on daily bases where
partners find reason to continue developing working relations among each other.
Representatives from the civil society and the business sector are given the opportunity to
take part in these workshops hence broadening the collaboration base.
Based on the desired ambition of the second part of the action plan – “when the
undesirable happens”, the Secretariat has developed a model called the “Safety Chain”
(fig. 2) which embraces different working methods. The distinctive feature of this
problem solving model is that ultimate focus is placed on the individual. This makes it
easy for the individual’s progress towards becoming a law abiding individual to be
followed up.
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Practical Collaboration
An essential aspect of the Young & Safe collaboration is to ensure that initiatives can be
traced from decision making to the individual. Efforts have been made to ensure that field
workers get the support needed to enable them either to be part of new initiatives or to
improve upon good working methods. It has been the duty of the Secretariat to coordinate
these efforts. Some of the interesting steps that have been taken the last four years include
a number of vocational courses where the business sector has been directly involved
together with housing companies, the education department and the social service
department. Guidelines have been developed to enable schools to easily follow routines
of reporting cases to the police or the Social services where necessary. Special groups
like the SSP (School, Social Services and Police) have been encouraged in the districts
where these three authorities meet to discuss common working processes.
Backa Base is one of many special collaborative projects between lead partners and other
stakeholders. The target group for this initiative is young people who have not
successfully completed high school and are therefore finding it
difficult to find jobs and consequently facing accommodation
problems. The participants are offered the opportunity to work
as interns with the housing companies where those who are in
need of accommodation are offered accommodation on trial
basis. The offer for accommodation is an incentive for the less
motivated to get a sense of commitment and the drive to strive
harder to gaining the self esteem needed to an independent
adult life.
A welding Academy is another vocational project between ESAB (a global manufacturer
and supplier of welding equipments), the education authority, several city districts and
other companies like AGA Gas.
Research and Evaluation
Right from the onset, a researcher was assigned to follow the process and to evaluate the
work of the group. After the first year, the researcher (a social scientist) in the person of
Dr. Torbjörn Forkby and co-author Theresa Larsen published the first report titled,
“Katalysatormodellen i brottspreventiv samverkan” (The Catalyst model in
Collaborative Crime Prevention). The report diagnosed issues of organisation, purpose
and challenges of the partnership.
Achievements
A lot has happened since Young & Safe was established in the latter part of 2004. Whilst
it is not entirely easy to claim that the downward trend in juvenile crime the last couple of
years in the Göteborg region is a result of the collaborative efforts of Young and Safe, it
is not an understatement to say that the initiative has played a rather important role to that
end.
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In terms of achievements, the easiest and most straightforward question any critic might
want to ask is “how many young people has Young & Safe prevented from committing
crime?” Figures are easy to count but in a complicated and challenging partnership like
Young and Safe, counting figures would probably not give the
clearest picture of achievements. The encouraging thing is that
there a number of evidential achievements worth of
mentioning. Young & Safe has since its inception put the
discussions of juvenile crime and youth issues on the top of the
agenda both in the mass media and the political sphere.
Collaborating partners, all of whom come in contact with
juvenile issues have found a natural forum where issues are
discussed and solutions are worked out for the common good
of the younger generation. It is much easier for the Police, social services and schools
within the city of Göteborg to work together towards a common goal. Today, there are
special social workers who go on police patrol with the police; a working relationship
which facilitates collaboration between both authorities remarkably.
Vocational courses and special trainee courses as those described above have over the
years changed the lives of over 200 young people who could have ended up in crime
related behaviour or could have become a burden on the society at large.
Key Lessons
An interesting question the authors of the evaluation report raised was the legitimacy of
Young and Safe. Initially, “there was the issue of perception by the various partners;
some had perceived Young & Safe as a catalyst of change in line with their own
intentions. Others were doubtful and sceptical about the capability of the initiative
leading to lowering the rate of juvenile crime” (Forkby & Larsen). These different
perceptions became a challenge for the secretariat which acts as a catalyst to address. The
Future Workshops became a good method of addressing these differences in perceptions
and paced the way for reaching compromises in finding common grounds for
collaboration. One such area that was admired was in the area of administration of
justice. This in summary, meant capacity building and the identification and focusing on
target groups first and foremost by the Police and the Prosecutors. Another area which
raised concerns initially was issues concerning how to strategise collaboration on antisocial behaviour. A typical example was how to administer the collaboration between
social workers who patrolled with the Police; who was to be responsible for the social
workers, the Police or the Social department? Today, the city authority has established a
common support unit (the Social Resource Department) with the responsibility to support
all 21 social departments within the semi-autonomous city districts. The social workers
attached to the Police fall today under the jurisdiction of the Social Resource department.
The big lesson to be derived from the Young & Safe initiative can conclusively be said
that in spite of the complications and difficulties inherent in such a partnership it is
possible to find compromises if time and resources are made available. This has been
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possible in this case mainly due to the fact that the Secretariat has been independent yet
representative of all collaborative partners.
Development potential
The Young & Safe concept has been conceived by many as a ground breaking approach to the
prevention of juvenile crime. However, looking at things from the level of complexity and
differences in partner organisations the least one can say is that there is ample room for
improvement. There is the issue of the Secretariat’s quasi independence which is both a strength
and a weakness depending on the issue and circumstance, something worth looking into by the
principals. Some organs of the national government like the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry
of Social Welfare among others have shown considerable interest in the concept. The question
then remains if the concept could be given a national recognition.
There is a desire from the Secretariat that the city districts, based on the regional steering group
principle create more collaborative groupings to take concerted actions like providing vocational
courses for the less fortunate ones. One such good example is the concept of “Navigatorcentrum”
(Navigator Centre) which is a collaborative undertaking between the city districts of Hisingen.
This is a concept that has been widely acclaimed and well promoted by the Swedish National
Board for Youth Affairs. The concept allows young people who need guidance for further
education or jobs to be given the needed support without having to oscillate between several
authorities.
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Backa BASE
Co-operation between the city district of
Backa and the local housing companies
by Magdalena Månson May 2009
(interviews by Joanne Cannon)
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Introduction
Backa is one of 21 city districts in Goteborg and has approximately 24 000 residents. In
2005 and 2006 Backa experienced a period of increasing criminality and drug abuse
among young people. The local shops and businesses had problems with repeated
burglaries. The local partners felt the need to do something collectively and in August
2006 some of them came together for a two days workshop. It was decided to create
working groups that would continue to develop new working methods. One of these
groups consisted of representatives from the local housing companies, the Public
Employment service, the city district’s recreation committee and the city district’s Social
services. The result of this group’s effort is the start of Backa BASE in April 2007.
Partners
The collaborative partners in Backa BASE are the city district’s Social services and the
local housings companies, Bostads AB Poseidon, Familjebostäder AB, Bostadsbolaget
AB (municipal-owned housing ) and Stena Fastigheter Väst AB (a private housing
company). Backa BASE is a unique way of working in the local community where the
housing companies and the Social services take a joint action to give young people an
alternative to unemployment, drug abuse and criminal careers.
Main objective and target group
The main objective is to get young people into the labour market and/or the education
system. At the end of their contact with Backa BASE they are responsible citizens who
can support themselves and have their own place to live.
The target group is young people between the ages of 18 and 25 who lack work
experience and who have not successfully completed upper secondary school. Lack of
education and work experience means difficulties in finding work, and lack of income
means difficulties in finding somewhere to live.
The BASE-concept
Backa BASE is based on a concept that first started in 2004 in another city district in
Goteborg, Lärjedalen. BASE stands for; Bostad (a place to live), Arbete (work), Skola
(school), Empowerment.
The concept is composed by three phases called First Base, Second Base and Home Base.
 In First Base the participants work as interns with the housing companies.
 In Second Base the participants continue to work as interns with the housing
companies and are offered accommodation on a trial basis.
 In Home Base the participants have their own income and are offered a lease on a
flat in their own name. They will have formed an independent life.
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Through the whole process a mentor follows the participant. The environment changes
but the mentor’s and the participant’s relationship continues through the whole process.
The BASE-concept in practice
The work as an intern with the housing companies consists of different caretaking tasks
such as gardening, public cleaning, waste recycling and disposal and carrying out
elementary repairs. Two participants work as interns at a public childcare centre. Each
participant is allotted an instructor who supervises their work. The instructors are
caretakers at the housings companies and teachers at the childcare centre. The instructors
become important role models and show the participants new ways of tackling an adult
life.
Backa BASE is run by a social worker who is project leader and mentor for the
participants. The role of the mentor is to be a good example for the participants and to
support them in the process of change. The mentor will map out issues that arise in the
working situation and will address them in order to aid the participants reach their goal.
Important aspects to map out are the participant’s ability to be on time and to follow
instructions, their power of initiative and endurance and their social skills. The role of the
project leader is to support the instructors how to meet the participants. For example,
sometimes the participants’ barriers around confidence and trust can be a challenge to the
instructors. The project leader can support with clarifications that help them understand
the workings of one another's mind.
Achievements
Not all participants reach Home Base but this does not mean their participation in Backa
BASE has been in vain. Even if they have been active only for a short while, they have
done something different in their life and hopefully they have learnt something about
themselves and about working life. Some have gained enough resources to make a
positive change without completing the programme.
Whom have we reached?
The youngsters who have attended Backa BASE have a diverse background. What they
have in common is that they have difficulties finding a job and they are in need of
somewhere to live. The majority have not successfully completed upper secondary school
and lack working experience. Some have previous drug abuse and some have previously
been involved in criminal actions. About half of the participants have immigrant
background (first or second generation). The hope of getting a flat becomes an incentive
to try harder to make a change.
How have we reached them?
At first the project leader presented Backa BASE for social workers and field workers in
Backa. The housing companies spread information about Backa BASE in their
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newsletters. Most of the participants have got the information about Backa BASE from
their social worker. Some have got the information from the field workers and some have
heard about it from friends. Today you can find information about Backa BASE on the
city district’s website.
How many?
19 youngsters have attended Backa BASE between June 2007 and March 2009. Of the10
people who have ended their contact, five persons are working or studying, three persons
are in other activities at the Social services and two are engaged in other measures in the
society. Two youngsters have reached Home Base.
other
First Base Second Base Home Base work or studies Social services measures
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10
2
5
3
2
What do our partners think?
Some of the partners shared their reflections about the project.
Marie Werner, district head administrator and Björn Krantz, district administrator
Poseidon:
As a municipal-owned company we are - as are our sister companies Familjebostäder and
Bostadsbolaget - bound by the goals and directions set by the City Council to provide a
safe and healthy environment for our citizens, and we work locally according to those
guidelines. And even though Stena is a privately-owned company, they too see the
necessity and positive returns of a social commitment. We operate under the motto: “No
man is an island” - it’s better to pool our resources.
We became involved in the project after the two-day workshop. Our housing area is
serviced by three maintenance teams and we have three positions for the project, one in
each team. If the participants fulfil the obligations for three months they are then offered
trial accommodation in one of our furnished flats. As the process continues and the
participant finds a regular job or starts studies and becomes self-sufficient, we can then
offer them a lease in their own name, an avenue often closed for them, on the condition
that they have been responsible tenants during the trial period. If the conditions are not
fulfilled, if they have not acted responsibly, they lose their chance. The difficult part in
the project is finding the right balance – how tough and when. But we do them a
disservice if we overlook certain behaviour. We want them to understand that there are
always consequences of their actions.
Even though three positions don’t sound like much, to help even one young man or
woman to a responsible life feels meaningful. The alternatives they might have chosen
instead may cost more in the long run. We have noticed positive results and respect not
only from the young people directly involved as participants but also from their friends
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and those in their social networks. We will continue to take part in Backa BASE in the
future as well. The costs it incurs are a socioeconomic investment.
Roger Martinsson, administrator Stena Properties:
Stena Properties have taken the decision to take part in different activities that improve
relationships in our housing areas. Backa BASE is one of several areas in which Stena is
engaged. It is important that the young people take responsibility. To give them a chance
to establish themselves in the community is an important contribution. Our caretakers
often become emotionally involved in the young people and we must always be careful to
give them the support they need. Stena will continue to take part in Backa BASE in the
future; it gives positive long-term effects in our housing areas.
Rafael Lavicki, district administrator Bostadsbolaget:
The two-day workshop was the beginning of our commitment. We want to contribute to a
good situation for young people. Backa BASE creates a win-win situation - the young
people are given a chance to take a step into adulthood and we face fewer long-term
problems in our housing. Besides that, it gives us a kick when a participant moves on to a
job and their own flat; to know that he or she is on the right track because we saw and
helped him or her.
Kaj Larsson, Head of Department of Social Welfare Services:
Backa BASE gives opportunities and excellent support to young people who are not
grounded in society; those who for different reasons, have failed to complete their
education and therefore find it difficult to get a job. It is an oft-forgotten group inbetween the well-adjusted and those who act out their feelings through criminality and
substance abuse. The social services, through Backa BASE, have the opportunity to rope
in these individuals; to identify their needs through activities and then support them in
their life career.
The collaboration with other players, such as the housing companies in the district, is a
first step towards a closer cooperation with the community in Backa - a first step towards
an expanded neighborhood work.