BY DEARBHÁIL BUTLER, who writes – At the beginning, there was no communication between residents and Gardaí – by the end of this new programme they both had a much deeper understanding of each others challenges and a mutual respect was formed. Also, residents are now much more confident referring locals to any of the agencies that were involved.
In recent editions, Changing Ireland closely followed the first roll-out of pilot projects under the new Place-Based Leadership Development Programme. It ran in Darndale and Drogheda and 42 people (pictured on right) graduated in the summer.
Which communities will next benefit? Where does the programme go from here? Time will tell. Meanwhile, the final report is in and Dearbháil Butler, a community worker with Northside Partnership, writes about its findings.
The evaluation of the Place-Based Leadership Development Programme (PBLDP) is now complete and it shows the positive impacts for local people.
Emerging changes in both places include: people who didn’t communicate before now do so, new groups of people are working together, we have new community events, there are more referrals between agencies, better training provision, more engagement on local projects, new campaigns and small new investments from funding agencies.
Over 18 months, the programme delivered ten modules of leadership development and each of the participants also received six hours of coaching to support their professional development.
The participants were a mix of people, representing local residents, voluntary and community sector organisations and statutory agencies. They shared really positive feedback about their experiences on the programme. They most highly valued their new relationships with people in other agencies and sectors, and learning how those agencies work in practice.
New confidence
The programme helped to develop their personal and professional skills and knowledge:
- It increased their confidence in the value, skills and experience they bring to collaborative working. It also created an increased enthusiasm and hope for local development.
- The programme increased participants’ knowledge about social issues. They learned about types of crime, exploitation and other issues affecting communities, and how agencies are responding and seeking to prevent crime and social problems.
- The participants took time to think and reflect, to engage with others, and to focus on leadership with collaborators.
- It improved people’s skills to communicate clearly and effectively, including addressing conflict. It built their confidence in questioning and/or disagreeing with others when needed.
As one participant put it (the feedback was given anonymously):
“I am becoming a bit more brave having conversations… with different agencies, I didn’t have that confidence… but I find from doing place-based leadership, sitting in a room at a table with the guards, Dublin City Council, drug services… I’ve so much more information now, I wouldn’t have got it anywhere else.”
Restored trust between residents and Gardaí
The programme helped develop relations between agencies. It connected people and we get more done now.
To give one example of this, the PBL group met and we wanted to bring the active community volunteers together to celebrate the work that they do in the community. We often reach out to volunteers to ask them to do something, but this time we changed our approach. We all pledged to pick up the phone and personally invite at least one volunteer from Darndale and surrounding areas.
They all turned up and each shared their stories of the great achievements and challenges they see in their communities. From that meeting, support and knowledge was shared between the groups and it really highlighted the power of bringing people together and how positive change can happen.
Some outcomes from that meeting are that the Mens Shed are now connected to the right supports on help them find a new premises. And the Women’s Group got support for setting themselves up as a committee, opening bank accounts and applying for funding to develop their group.
• Participants find themselves advocating for other agencies. Having learned more about those agencies, they changed their opinions and are now better able to explain the decisions and work of other services locally.
At the beginning of the PBL journey, there was no communication between residents and Gardaí – by the end of this new programme they both had a much deeper understanding of each others challenges and a mutual respect was formed. Also, residents are now much more confident referring locals to any of the agencies that were involved.
• The new relationships among programme participants are helping to accelerate progress by Northside Partnership in Darndale and the Drogheda Implementation Board.
As one participant put it: “Everybody was listened to, there was no one overpowering voice, everybody’s ideas were taken on.” They said they learned what a leader was: “A leader is not a knower, a leader is somebody who listens and takes on board what other people are saying.” They said the programme’s impact on them as a person was that it “helped me work better in a group setting and be more aware and listen more to other people”.
Many participants said they are just starting the process of putting their learning into practice, and the groups are at the beginning of their journey working together to deliver projects.
* Dearbháil Butler is the Empowering Communities Team Leader with Northside Partnership based in Coolock, Dublin 17. She also serves as a councillor, representing Donaghmede, on Dublin City Council.
Crime response in Darndale & Dundalk – 24 local leaders start course
