The UK government has made up to £1 million (US$1.3 million) available over three years to establish a support forum for grassroots community and voluntary groups across Northern Ireland. The project is funded by the Northern Ireland Office’s Community Partnership Fund. It is designed to help smaller community groups that often struggle to access funding and development support.
The project, ‘On the Radar: Pathways to Stronger Communities’, will be delivered by three non-profit organisations working in partnership: Co-operation Ireland, Rural Action and the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action (NICVA). They aim to provide practical help at all levels, from the initial design of a project to the day-to-day administration. Thirty core organisations will receive one-to-one mentoring, and up to 500 community groups will be trained in how to apply for competitive funding and manage public grants.
The award was announced by Northern Ireland Office Minister Baroness Ruth Anderson at the project’s launch at the Co-operation Ireland headquarters in Belfast. She said the funding is designed to create one front door for the region’s voluntary and community sector. The project will build on the partners’ experience in rural community development and cross-community peacebuilding to strengthen local delivery, she added.
It is helpful for readers outside the UK to know why these groups matter in Northern Ireland. Community organisations have played a key role in bringing people together and providing local services after decades of conflict known as the Troubles. The main public services are provided by government bodies, but independent voluntary groups often run neighbourhood regeneration, youth training and rural welfare schemes.
Stephen Dallas, chief executive of Co-operation Ireland, stated that smaller grassroots groups often go unnoticed when it comes to funding and development opportunities. Many of these local committees have few paid staff, which is a disadvantage when writing technical grant applications. NICVA and Rural Action representatives made similar points, saying that rural groups regularly encounter practical barriers to accessing support.
The £1 million is for capacity building, not direct cash subsidies. The focus is on training volunteer coordinators and improving governance so local groups can sustain their own work over the long term.
