1. PROGRAMME DIRECTOR: PATRICK STOAKES

2. An Irish Programme to Build Capacity of the LGBTI Sector LGBT DIVERSITY

3. Background  The Building Sustainable LGBT Communities Programme established in 2009. A Transgender Strand (TENI) and LGBT Strand (LGBT Diversity)  LGBT Diversity a joint programme of 12 LGBT groups- national advocacy bodies (GLEN,LGBT Noise, Marriage Equality, NLGF, TENI) services with national remit (BelongTo) and local services (Cork Gay Project, Dundalk Outcomers, LinC, Outwest, Rainbow Support Services.)  Five staff members and Independent Chair

4. Programme Outcomes  Outcome 1: Existing services, groups, organisations, and centres that work with LGBT people have increased capacity  Outcome 2: People living in parts of Ireland that currently have little or no supports for LGBT people will have greater access to safe spaces/groups  Outcome 3: The LGBT sector in Ireland is more cohesive, with greater opportunities for shared experiences, shared learning and collaboration.

5. Classic Growth Model Leadership and Strategy Delivery Support and social involvement  Aims to increase the overall size of the sector.  Get more people involved.  Create more groups  Move people up the hierarchy of influence  Move groups up the hierarchy of influence

6. Strategic Refocus  The programme was conceived in the boom years, and its aspirations for growth fitted in to that time  The economic crisis made those aspirations much more challenging and the logic of the programme was shaken  A lot of the targets for the programme were met very early on, but keeping the momentum going for new developments is difficult  But needed to remember that what we trying to do was still needed

7. Sustainability Approach to Sector Building Agenda Social Capital Needs Service Quality  Less interest in growth  Capacity is therefore defined as a combination of: the social capital of the sector (how different organisations relate); the quality of the service provided; the demonstrable need that is being met; and the broader social agenda that it is framed within.

8. Lessons Learnt  The advocacy gap is not a lack of local activists engaged with the big, national issues; but is rather lack of activists who can influence local and regional decision makers, or decision makers within specific fields  Capacity building should be aspirational, progressive and shouldn’t be afraid of having an agenda. But some groups will neither want nor need that kind of directional support  “Lone Ranger” community development doesn’t work

9. Successes  Leadership programme; creating networks of activists, shared vision, and mentor relationship with the major agencies  Joint development of regional strategies; the success being the process, collectively agreeing priorities and creating working relationships between community and mainstream  Follow through (research → seminar → action group → funded initiative)