Our Strategy

In January 2022, our Adventures in Advantaged Thinking publication described what is possible when we see the world differently. But in recent years, new obstacles have made it harder for young people to move forward.

The fallout from the pandemic has exacerbated young people’s mental health struggles and had a negative impact on employment and education options. The cost of living crisis has made it difficult to afford housing and day-to-day living for young people with little to no parental support.

A lack of suitable affordable housing has been a barrier for young people who are ready to take their next step from the Foyer – where can they move on to?

Foyers have found it challenging to recruit and retain passionate Advantaged Thinking staff since the difficult Covid years. They have also, in many cases, experienced tensions with their parent Housing Associations, which has restricted growth and innovation through rigid contract models, corporate bureaucracy and a disconnect from their social mission. It’s been tough for the Foyer approach to thrive within this harsher landscape of austerity and compromise.

However, the fact remains that:

• Foyers are transformational places where young people can realise their power and purpose, and flourish.
• Staff working in Foyers are creative, passionate and determined, and have a hugely positive impact in young people’s lives.
• Young people are powerful, insightful and driven to make a change in the world.

Build capacity and create opportunities for the Foyer network to deliver an Advantaged Thinking Foyer offer.

Key Tasks:

• Reignite and grow the capacity of Foyers to deliver learning, enterprise and skill development.
• Improve access to employment and work experience.
• Support Foyers to open up new housing and move on pathways.

Develop, monitor and validate the quality of Foyer services supporting them to build Advantaged Thinking culture and practice that is transformational for young people.

Key Tasks:

• Re-establish the value of our quality development programme to support Foyers to go beyond compliance and strive for excellence.
• Transition the existing accredited Foyers to the new offer and build a pipeline of new services who want to go on an Advantaged Thinking quality journey.
• Support Foyers to open up new housing and move on pathways.

Facilitate a network of Foyer professionals who can share learning, inspire innovation and drive collaboration within the community.

Key Tasks:

• Deliver opportunities for peer learning and sharing best practice among Foyer staff drawing on insights from our programmes.
• Drive collaboration and engagement between those engaged in the quality development programme.
• Convene leaders within Foyers to build their resilience, connectedness and creativity.

Develop a tenacious, resilient, skilled and visionary workforce of Advantaged Thinkers for youth supported housing.

Key Tasks:

• Increase engagement in our Advantaged Thinking leadership, resilience and skills development offer for the Foyer network.
• Explore innovative approaches to developing the future Foyer workforce, activating lived and learned experience.

Collaborate with young people to increase their involvement and influence with, through and beyond the Foyer Federation.

Key Tasks:

• Develop systems, programmes, processes and culture that enable young people to co-design and lead within the Foyer Federation.
• Partner with others to challenge and campaign to reduce inequalities for young people.
• Enable young people to share their skills, stories and achievements through our platforms and networks.

Raise awareness of Foyers as a transformative part of the youth housing pathway and advocate for secure, sustainable and consistent investment in the approach.

Key Tasks:

• Use research and data to evidence the impact of Foyers to key stakeholders.
• Define and share what good looks like in youth supported housing with local commissioners.
• Promote and grow the Foyer brand and approach partnering with peers in the youth homelessness sector.

Grow the Foyer network so it’s accessible to all young people who can benefit from it.

Key Tasks:

• Determine who is – and who wants to be – part of the Foyer movement, challenging non-members who are Foyer by name to step in or step out.
• Communicate the vision of the Foyer offer to local youth supported housing projects.
• Drive investment in new Foyers in geographical areas where there are no Foyers.
• Pilot new Foyers for young people with specialised or specific support needs, e.g. people who identify as LGBTQ+, people with disabilities, single parents.

Unite, grow and guide a worldwide Advantaged Thinking movement for good.

Key Tasks:

• Promote the Advantaged Thinking approach and identity to key stakeholders.
• Create space for Advantaged Thinkers to come together online and in person.

Nurture and grow the staff and trustee team to effectively deliver the strategic aims in line with our values.

Key Tasks:

• Develop the trustee board to provide expertise inline with the new strategy.
• Ensure young people continue to share power at all levels of the organisation.
• Build the diversity, skills and experience of the staff team.
• Create and shape new and existing staff roles to deliver the strategy effectively .

Build a diverse and sustainable income base to deliver the strategy in line with the mission.

Key Tasks:

• Develop new income streams that enable the core charitable activities to be sustained and grown, including corporate partnerships, government grants and regular donations.
• Grow the amount and percentage mix of our earned income, including membership, training and the strategic partner offer.
• Effectively communicate a compelling case for investment in the Foyer Federation to future funders.

Implement and improve systems, processes and central operations to maximise the effectiveness of our activities and demonstrate the breadth and depth of our impact.

Key Tasks:

• Develop better internal systems for relationship management of our member network.
• Expand the reach and effectiveness of our communications.
• Develop more robust ways to track the impact of our work and share it with others.
• Improve our HR, finance and operational processes, ensuring staff have what they need when they need it.