Creating intentional, genuine high trust relationships

Building your 'support team' with rangatahi

• Parental consent is easier to attain through youth organisations that have already gone through this process
• Allow for more rangatahi to put their name forward to join the group

Improving co-design with rangatahi

• Learn from others who have run sessions before via case studies or videos
• Survey rangatahi in their spaces via online channels
• Refer to co-design resources
• Hire a youth facilitator to run the sessions internally for larger organisations or councils

Making rangatahi feel empowered, valued, safe and included

Creating a safe space to share

• Meet rangatahi in places that feel comfortable for them such as parks, community halls or schools
• Introduce everyone up-front
• Be casual in your attire and language

Being inclusive 

• It is important to be inclusive of marginalised rangatahi (for example, disabled rangatahi/rough sleepers) who could benefit from these spaces. Conversations should be facilitated by specialised youth facilitators in their environments
• Invite rangatahi to participate on their own terms with low and high involvement for example, being a part of an online chat, completing surveys, joining the support team

Encouraging creativity 

• Engage with rangatahi creatively for example, brainstorming on beach balls
• Bring the tools for them to articulate their ideas for example, large sheets of paper, clay, post-it notes, pipe cleaners etc

Creating a space for rangatahi to lead and make decisions

Understanding and accurately articulate the needs to rangatahi 

• Involve rangatahi early in the process
• Stay true to understanding what rangatahi need and communicating their perspective authentically by sharing rich data and their stories
• Support young people to make submissions on long-term plans for what they want to see happen in their community
• Thread together their ideas, discussing concepts with rangatahi and shape the direction of the project to what they need rather than meeting funding requirements
• Support young people to share or present feedback to key decision makers

Providing growth opportunities for rangatahi

• Brainstorm with the support team what opportunities they see for leadership, identify skills they want to build and contribute and responsibilities they might want to take on
• Support rangatahi to hear and share feedback from their peers

Challenging our own biases and assumptions

• Ask good questions to challenge assumptions and use non-biased ways to gather initial information such as an external research agency

Empowering young people with useful, timely and meaningful information
 

Providing relevant information for rangatahi to make informed decisions

• Provide tangible, visual inspiration or ideas to get their thoughts on, such as international examples of similar spaces, or an existing space that you will be re-using. 
• Encourage rangatahi to share their own examples of places they like and why 
• Share the constraints of the project so young people understand what they are and are unable to influence. This will enable them to provide specific, useful feedback 

Partnering with experts (for example, skaters, basketballers, architects)

• Collaborate with a professional in a sports or active recreation activity to increase engagement with rangatahi and as a good soundboard for ideas
• Involve an architect or designer to bring rangatahi ideas to life and gather more specific feedback on different concepts
• Support rangatahi to cost and plan their ideas

Reducing barriers for rangatahi to be involved

• Rangatahi who do not have provisions may be reliant on your organisation for transport to be able to participate. Public transport credit, or meeting them in an accessible space for them like somewhere nearby a school, will ensure all rangatahi have the opportunity to be involved