About us
Dadly Does It is about the positive impact that fatherhood can have on the happiness and well-being of children of all ages.
Dadly Does It- Spreading Awareness
The original Dadly Does It project was run by Unlimited Potential over six years in three different places: Little Hulton in Salford, Winton in Salford, and Langley in Rochdale Borough. With funding from Salford Clinical Commissioning Group and then the Lankelly Chase Foundation, the project worked with fathers from disadvantaged communities, with an aim to understand whether or not positive fatherhood impacts on the health and well-being of children.
There is now good research evidence that psychological and emotional aspects of paternal involvement in children’s early upbringing – particularly how new fathers see themselves as parents and adjust to the role – is associated with positive behavioural outcomes in children
“I felt alone.I felt a failure as I had no one to measure up against. I was very depressed... Everyone needs someone to turn to, to say ‘Am I doing this right?’ It’s not just women who can open up; men can be sensitive too, we just don’t get the chance.”
-Father, Little Hulton
‘Positive deviance’ approach, following the four Ds:
In each neighbourhood, Dadly Does It focussed on ‘what’s strong, not what’s wrong’, and drew on the strengths, assets and hidden wisdom of communities.
1. Define the problem:
The community defines the problem, followed by careful observation and questioning to identify successful solutions and outcomes, described in behavioural or relationship terms.
2. Determine the positive role models (‘positive deviants’):
The facilitator and local people identify individuals who already exhibit the desired behaviours and outperform others in their community.
3. Discover what the positive role models do (uncommon practices or behaviours)
The individual behaviours (‘partial solutions’) come together to form a locally discovered solution to the problem, and the community realises the presence of ‘positive deviants’.
4. Design ways of sharing solutions
The behaviours are amplified and an intervention is co-designed to enable others to access and practice them through active doing (rather than passive transfer of knowledge), and to expand the solution that works for local people.
The behaviours are amplified and an intervention is co-designed to enable others to access and practice them through active doing (rather than passive transfer of knowledge), and to expand the solution that works for local people.
Read more here about how the Dadly Does It project affected people in the communities it worked with.
By supporting Dad’s and relating to them as Fathers rather than as men motivated them to take action and make changes that were seen over the course of the 3 years. During the project, it was found that positive role models may be Fathers able to overcome their pride and shame to express their feelings. Using social narrative they gave hope to other Fathers who are isolated and in agony. Having a ‘mate’ and working ‘shoulder to shoulder’ allowed Fathers to open up and share their feelings with others. It gave them a purpose, control over their own lives and confidence that saw their children become more confident and their relationship with the mother improve.
It was the catalyst for the start of a cultural shift in attitudes as an alternative positive model of fatherhood emerged.