Please click on the links below for more information
Local Community Groups
SICAP Goal 1 Community Development Team Supports
What is Community Development?
Community development is a process where community members come together and take collective action on issues which are important to them. Community development empowers community members and creates stronger and more connected communities.
What is the Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP)?
The Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP) provides funding to tackle poverty and social exclusion at a local level through engagement and partnerships between individuals experiencing disadvantage and discrimination, community organisations and public sector agencies. The Programme assists both individuals and local community groups through targeted local led approaches.
SICAP Goal 1 aims to empower communities to identify and respond to their own needs. It is concerned with the principles of participation, empowerment, capacity building, and collective action, and is underpinned by a community development
approach.
Goal 1 is underpinned by current policy, which emphasises the importance of inclusive community engagement, empowering communities to address social exclusion, and social enterprises as a key vehicle for community development and providing employment opportunities to disadvantaged groups
Possible Supports from SICAP Community Development Team
Community Animation and Group Formation for Local Community Groups, and Networks
Assistance and Support Provided with:
- Initial formation of the group
- Assistance with the Development of Group Constitution
- Support with Initial Committee Meeting and Election of Officers
- Opening a bank account
- Taking out an insurance policy
- Developing Strategic and Annual Plans
- Registration with the PPN
- Awareness raising on social inclusion issues within the community
Outreach Work
- Leafleting, community consultations and surveys
- Door to door contacts
- Facilitating Open meetings & Networking.
General community activities to raise awareness and recruit members (Family Fun Days, Health Promotion Days, community education courses etc.).
Capacity Building and Empowerment
Formal/Informal training and development support for the Group including:
- Committee Skills including roles and responsibilities, conflict resolution, communication skills, financial monitoring and control, participation in decision-making structures and support to access non SICAP related funding.
- Support to develop a community needs analysis
- Participation in anti-racism and anti-discrimination training
- Create additional employment or volunteering activities within the community
- Getting to grips with the Charities Governance Code
- How to apply for Charitable Status
Support to participate in Local Area Networks.
Engagement with SICAP Funded Workshops/Events.
Provision of practical training supports linked to the group’s programme of activities such as youth leadership and child protection.
Developing Collaborative Initiatives with Relevant Stakeholders to Respond to Identified Gaps in Services and Need.
This core area of work supports the development of meaningful solutions to the needs identified by SICAP target groups and Local Community Groups & Networks.
Waterford Area Partnerships’s Goal 1 team collaborates with SICAP target groups and local, regional and national organisations, Local Community Groups, Social Enterprises, Networks, local Government, State Agencies, targeted area-based initiatives, and other statutory and non-statutory service providers to identify gaps in services for SICAP target groups and to develop collective responses to address them.
Community Based Social Enterprises
SICAP Supports to Community Based Social Enterprises
A Social Enterprise is an enterprise whose objective is to achieve a social, societal or environmental impact, rather than maximising profit for its owners or shareholders.
It pursues its objectives by trading on an ongoing basis through the provision of goods and/or services, and by reinvesting surpluses into achieving social objectives.
It is governed in a fully accountable and transparent manner and is independent of the public sector. If dissolved, it should transfer its assets to another organisation with a similar mission.
WAP/SICAP provides supports to Local Community Groups that have established or are considering establishing a Social Enterprise that provides benefits to their community.
Supports include;
- Social Enterprise mentoring
- Enterprise training; idea generation, business planning, marketing
- Governance training
- Networking
WAP/SICAP established the Waterford Social Enterprise Network (WSEN) to provide a participative and collaborative space for Social Enterprises and Social Entrepreneurs that supports the development of Social Enterprises in Waterford City & County.
Support to Community and Voluntary Organisations with Tus Work Placements
Waterford Area Partnership/Tus Programme works with Community and Voluntary Organisations to provide quality work opportunities in the delivery of services. (The participants on the Tus Scheme will be sourced by the Department of Social Protection and must be continuously unemployed for at least 12 months, signing on a full time basis and in receipt of Jobseekers Benefit or Jobseekers Allowance).
Work opportunities within Communities/Organisations will be selected that:
1. Do not displace existing commercial activity or duplicate service provision by another agency
2. Is of sufficient quality
3. Makes a meaningful contribution within communities
4. Supports voluntary effort
