Abstract
PurposeThis paper aims to explore the experience of one large Irish youth work organisation, Foróige, to measures introduced during the initial phase of COVID-19 in 2020. In the face of the unprecedented crisis including the closure of schools and curtailment of many youth services, this paper examines how the organisation responded and adapted its service offering.Design/methodology/approachQualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 senior managers and youth officers in Foróige to explore their perspectives on the organisation’s response. Participants were purposively sampled from across the operational management functions and also from regional levels and youth workers engaging in work “on the ground”.FindingsShifting from a face-to -face, relationship-based to a distanced mode of engagement with young people, colleagues and volunteers required significant adaptation of Foróige’s service model. Innovation took place both in the delivery platform and fundamentally, in its service orientation. The accelerated move to online youth work brought about by the pandemic enabled the organisation to embrace and learn from the challenges and opportunities posed by digital technology. Responding to the immediate and tangible needs of young people in receipt of services, staff found themselves working with families at the more basic levels of intervention.Originality/valueThis paper provides new insights into the nature of non-profit service innovation during a time of unprecedented crisis management. It highlights characteristics of organisational agility that can assist organisations in managing crises, while also pointing the way towards a more flexible operating model for youth work service delivery.
Highlights
The COVID-19 pandemic “placed the greatest restrictions on the lives of children seen in modern times” (Crushell et al, 2020, p. 8)
Our findings highlight a number of challenges associated with the accelerated move to online youth work brought about by the pandemic while demonstrating the opportunities to embrace and learn posed by digital technology
This paper has explored how one large Irish youth organisation adapted to the profound changes to their operating environment brought about by the COVID-19 crisis
Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic “placed the greatest restrictions on the lives of children seen in modern times” (Crushell et al, 2020, p. 8). The COVID-19 pandemic “placed the greatest restrictions on the lives of children seen in modern times” Commencing in Spring 2020, the widespread closure and disruption of schools, universities and educational services, the shutting down of statutory services and the curtailment of physical and recreational outlets has had a considerable impact on all aspects of life and society. While much of the focus in public discourse and research has been on the impact of school closures, youth work organisations were forced to shut their doors as part of the COVID-19 restrictions. In responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, youth work organisations globally have been confronted with a set of unforeseen and unprecedented circumstances (OECD, 2020). The pandemic fits the categorisation of a crisis defined within the non-profit literature as a specific, unpredicted event or series of events that carries a high degree of threat to the delivery of an organisation’s goals (Seeger et al, 2003; Coombs, 2012).
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