COLLABORATIVE WORKING TOWARDS THE CREATION OF SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY NETWORKS

Vanessa Clarke Muintir na Tire Community Alert Development Officer Email veeceeze@hotmail.com

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• Founded in 1937 By John Canon Hayes.• Based on the philosophy of good neighbour.• People are the building blocks of communities• Communities had capacity to respond to issues directly affecting them • Long history of community development• Parish halls, rural electrification, group water schemes, parish plans ,citizens info centres,• Numerous policy documents and lobbying on behalf of people of rural Ireland • Community Alert

MUINTIR NA TIRE

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COMMUNITY ALERT

• Brainchild of Johnny Murray Cork• Response to vicious attacks on older rural dwellers• Approached Muintir na Tire• Muintir na Tire in discussion with An Garda Siochana agreed to an informal partnership • Partnership formalised in April 2002 with signing of Memorandum of Understanding first official state voluntary partnership

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• Garda Siochana provides the services of a liaison member locally and of all ranks up to Community Relations HQ • Muintir na Tire provides services of a Regional Development Officers and supporting resources• Community provides volunteer committees and agrees extent of activity at local level based on human resources available to address prioritised community needs.• All partners engage with outside support agencies and service providers using community development process to provide the best community safety model possible in a defined area

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Health is defined as a state of “complete physical, mental and social well being”. This definition was formulated in 1946 by the WHO

Determinants of community health and well beingSocial and economic circumstancesHousing• EthnicityStressGenderEarly life DevelopmentSocial ExclusionWork and Unemployment Social Supports RESILIENCEApr 19, 2023 5

COMMUNITY RESILIENCEThe ability to deal with stress and challenges The ability to bounce back after taking a thumpIt also is about adapting and changing our

situations in challenging times so as not to be left with lasting consequences.. .physical, emotional or psychological.. Being perceptive

Developing a greater level of self resilience will not stop stressful happenings but we can reduce the extent of disruption to our communities and accordingly the length of time taken to recover after an event.

Community Development to build networks

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SKILLS TO BUILD RESILIENCE IN A COMMUNITYRecognising feelings.. Fear, loneliness, isolation,

lack of information Reaching out... Active citizens, caring neighbours...

Listening ear.. Shoulder to cry on Empathy... Sharing a concern is halving the problem. Believing in your own and the community’s ability to

self help.... Community development .. Identifying

problems ..analysing to find the cause .. Facilitating responses and availing of support networks, encouraging people to participate in social activity

Optimism.. Always a solution ..may not always be what one expects ...NB clear picture comes from consultation...

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TAKING A PICTURE OF THE COMMUNITY

MAPPING ..... AUDITING BENEFITS Clear snapshot of resources, gaps , immediate and long term needs Also provides the answers to many of the key ???? In a defined

area.o Who are the key leaders or drivers? Are there other people in the

community with potential who may be willing to become involved as activists? Are there experts in development or planning living in the community ?... Should the community be looking for partners? Is the community making key connections?

o What resources are available to assist progress? o Models of best practice, o Mentorso Investmento Financial backers /Fundraising o Local support o How activity fits in with local, county and national planning and

provisiono NETWORKING

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WHAT DOES YOUR COMMUNITY PICTURE DO?

Signals the start of a journey fro a community from the now

Provides a talking document, encourages conversations around possibilities

Identifies existing links and elementsLinks show relationships, information

flows ,interactions and the directions all of these travel

Elements are the people, groups, organisation, businesses, service providers and agencies

knowing where the connections are, and are not, allows a community to influence all interactions.

A community map pictures the existing ties within a defined area and is a useful tool to build strategies and to design new networks at all levels

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What does a vibrant, effective community network look like?Five general patterns are observed in all

effective networks:Birds of a feather flock together!... Common

goals, similar set up..Diversity leads to innovative thinkingThere are several connections between any

two elements direct and indirect... e.g. if any one element is removed there are other flows that will remain uninterrupted

The more flows there are between elements the more vibrant the network

Some elements are more prominent t than others ... Hubs and spokes

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STEPS TO BUILDING EFFECTIVE NETWORKS

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Networks, are usually left to grow without a plan. Unmanaged, networks follow two simple, but what can be powerful forces.

1.Birds of a feather flock together.2. Those close by, form a tie.

Result... Small groups with little diversityTypical of isolated rural communities that are resistant to change but yet for specific projects such groups can be very successful

... SUCCESSFUL NETWORKS...Experience shows that most communities start as

small clusters organized around common interests or cause

Usually these clusters are isolated from each other. They are very small groups of 1-5 people or organizations that have connected out of necessity,

If these fragments do not organize further, the community structure remains weak and the groups f fall apart.

Mapping/ auditing in association with community development principles to action priorities is the sustainable route forward.

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VIBRANT SUSTAINABLE GROUPS

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LEADERSHIP

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Without active leaders or community drivers who takes responsibility for building a network, spontaneous connections between groups emerge very slowly, or not at all. This individual is the community knitter or weaverInstead of allowing small groups to drift in the hope of making a lucky connection, network weavers actively create new interactions between them.

Weaving Knitting Fabricating...Network weavers or knitters4 begin with a hub and spoke

network, where the crafter is the hubThe weaver the visionary The Canon Hayes has the

picture the energy, and the social skills to connect to diverse individuals and groups and start information flowing to and from them. The weavers usually have external links outside of the community to bring in information and ideas.

This is a critical phase for community building because everything depends on the weaver who is the hub in the network. and should he or she leave the group may fall away.

Building relationships at this point is crucial to the success of the network formation

It is also possible that if multiple weavers are working in the same community that several hubs emerge start to overlap ,and duplication of provision occurs hence the need for collaborative discussionsApr 19, 2023 15

GROWING THE NETWORK

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As the overall network grows, the role of the weaver changes from being the central weaver, the hub to being a facilitator of network weaving in thecommunity – coordinating with, and mentoring of other network weavers.

Network Weaving has two strands. relationship building, particularly acrosstraditional divides, so that people have access to innovation and important information

learning how to facilitate collaborations for mutual benefit.

COLLABORATION

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Collaborations can be• simple and short term— local entrepreneurs purchasing supplies together community groups sharing resources , facilities, merging to avail of mentoring.... Bartering sharing expertise • complex and long termsuch as a major policy initiative or creation of a venture fund. This culture of collaboration creates a state of emergence, where the outcome—a healthy community—is much more than the sum of the many collaborations. The local interactions create a global outcome that no one group could achieve working alone.

Barriers to Collaboration A multi-hub network may be not be conducive

to collaboration where political and ‘turf’ issues are to the fore in the network.

If two or more community development organizations start battling over power and control of the community then the result may be two or more competing, single hub networks that ignore the larger community needs and just focus on survival of their own network.

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Ultimate goal for network builders Using similarity to build trust and diversity to introduce new ideas

To build a network within a defined areaTo foster collaboration at all levels for mutual

benefitTo empower the elements of the network to

become weavers themselves and create further and greater networks

Together we are betterApr 19, 2023 19

Thank you for your listening

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Community Alert based on the good neighbour ethosSet up with a committee structure

Committee agrees area boundary and erects signs to define area

Co-operation with agencies and other voluntary groups encouraged to avoid duplication of activities.

Core activity of group to Compile and maintain a list of vulnerable community members ,

keep in regular contact with those living alone or in isolation,increase awareness within the community of safety issues

BASIC COMMUNITY ALERT MODEL

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•Visitation of isolated persons•Information events•Good morning call services•Social event organisation•Text alert cascade system for all community members•Ur nvr 2 lte 2 lrn 2 txt for older persons. •Be Safe Be Seen •Bottle in the fridge •I CE Card•Community Smoke Alarm installation•Warmer Homes Attic Insulation•Small scale home improvements

COMMUNITY ALERT PROJECTS

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Working Together we not only create safer communities we create better communities

AGENCIES

ME SERVICE PROVIDERS

YOU

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