Collaboration in Local Development The Benefits 1www.nrn.ie

The current context Rural areas are under sever pressure – Everything from the McCarthy Report to the weather, to the National Spatial Strategy to the farming sector’s difficulties The population of the rural areas of Ireland is now very diverse in many areas Though diverse they share many common problems rural services, rural transport, management of development, unemployment, broadband access and so on

What is it? Collaboration and networking – Networking is between those organisations that are similar and pursuing the same objectives – For me collaboration is shared activity between ‘unusual’ partners – Principle of collaboration is that the cake we are seeking to share is not of a set size True collaboration means – – Sharing the goals – Sharing the costs – Sharing the benefits – Getting more of your things done than you could get done on your own

Collaboration Can happen at many levels – On policy development – On strategy development – On an issue especially in terms of the media – On a project Often think of it in terms of projects but is possible and sometimes critical, for other areas as well Important for example that rural areas get their share of all funding and not just that directed at rural areas

Who should be involved Often state and community and voluntary sectors the ones that are involved Two key sets of stakeholders are often missing – The business community – The financial community This needs to be reflected on

What are the benefits Tangible – More likely to get approval or be heard – More likely to have influence – Able to apply for bigger projects – Able to share overhead costs so they are less – Able to bring individual expertise to bear on a project or issue – Able to avoid unnecessary competition Intangible – New relationships created and new dialogues started – Able to deal with problems you couldn’t have even talked about together previously

Policy Aspects Developing shared policy positions regarding local rural areas – This is both possible and necessary – Many policy and legislative decisions are made that require rural proofing – in the interests of all inhabitants of rural areas – Development plan policies, for example, can have considerable implications for the inhabitants of rural areas and this may become even more problematic

Addressing Issues Collaboration around media issues for example Rural areas got positive attention in the recent flooding However, coverage is often negative or non-existent – Rural issues are often dismissed or treated with ridicule – Rural divisions are exploited – Urban perspective on rural issues often the one presented on mainstream media

Accessing Funding Rural Development Programme an obvious source But also even at a local level – Philanthropic funding – EU funding in a wide range of areas Concerto Interreg EU Health Programme – Other international funding – National funding

Some examples Collaboration between Local Authorities and communities on road improvement – Community provides land – Local Authority provides expertise and materials – Community provides labour and machinery Collaboration between local organisations in a community – Integrated Area Plans – Ferbane Plan – Ferbane Enterprise Centre

And Collaboration in accessing European funding – SERVE project in North Tipperary – Local Authority, TI, TEA, SPIL, participant householders and businesses Local Food networks – Tipperary for example Philanthropic Funding - The Carnegie UK Trust – Developing resilient rural communities – Funding to facilitate the development of collaboration in rural areas

And a final one Collaboration between communities and within communities with a focus on enterprise development – Dunhill Eco-park in County Waterford – Mixture of voluntary activity, some state assistance and private enterprise

Conclusion Collaborative approaches are not easy They require a change of mind-set and a letting go of some level of control Adopting perspectives but not positions The cake can be made bigger through working together

Conclusion Collaborative approaches should focus on outcomes rather than mechanisms in the first place The stakeholder base needs to be widened Rural communities have more in common than they have differences If they work together with clear purpose many good outcomes cn be achieved