To Inform Or Not Inform?
I write this article to share with you the hardships of the information world.
I have been writing an information booklet for my local borough's young people, and at every step I have been facing difficulties.
To begin with, last year it was a case of funding. "Where is it coming from?" "Who is going to write it?" and stuff like that.
This year I have decided to get the info book off the ground and update it and try and get it published. Well, that's just the start of it. Before I can even think about writing the booklet I have to have meetings with this person and meetings with that person.
Then I've got to write a draft and run it by this body of people and that body of people (names not mentioned for confidentiality reasons). Then it will need to be passed by these people, then I will need to run consultations with young people to find out what their issues are so that the information they request and need is within the booklet.
But to do that I have to write the consultation and get it passed by these people and those people before I can even think about sending it out. (If you're keeping count we are now up to about eight weeks.)
Then the survey / consultation will take at least two months to get the responses back, then it will take me and a small team two weeks to collate and record all the responses and write a report on what's needed.
After this I will then need to submit the report to these people and those people, then it will take another three months to rewrite the booklet and work with the young people to get the design to how they want it.
From here it will then need to be passed by these people and those people again, to say that it's finalised. Then I will have to look for and apply for funding to get it published. It will then take a further two months to get it fully printed and ready to be passed out to the young people of Torfaen. (That's now about eight to nine months.)
This is all just to get an information booklet for young people published, so do I go for it or not?
Well, you'll be happy to know that I am doing it, but I've got to have the meetings first.
Hope you all enjoyed reading, and feel free to comment.
IMAGE: edrabbit
