SOCIAL INVESTMENT FUND SUMMARY & ANALYSIS The Review of Public Administration and Local Government Reform, the development of community planning, the Social Investment Fund, and other political and administrative changes in Northern Ireland mark a unique opportunity to reassert the principles of community development and good relations and, in particular, where these sit within local authorities. In recognition of this opportunity, the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland has recently completed a substantial research project through its Causeway Communities Engagement Programme. This series of 5 ‘In-Brief’ publications summarises the findings from this research and some of the policy implications. This series of 5 In-Brief publications has been completed through the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland’s Causeway Communities Engagement Programme. The Causeway Communities Engagement Programme (CCEP) is a pilot initiative to build community capacity and engagement in selected areas in each of the four Council areas involved in the proposed Causeway Coast & Glens Council (Ballymoney, Coleraine, Limavady and Moyle). It began in January 2012 and is scheduled to run until December 2014. The Programme is funded by the International Fund for Ireland, Atlantic Philanthropies and the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland. The key aims of CCEP are: — Developing relationships and capacity, sharing and learning, meeting local needs; — Addressing future political and administrative changes; — Linking local communities and groups with agencies and Council functions; — Tackling community tensions and divisions; — Addressing the legacy of the conflict; — Sharing the process model and policy lessons with other Council areas and policy makers. The Social Investment Fund (SIF) has now been established to run until 2015 and has been allocated £80 million by the Northern Ireland Executive. It aims “to make life better for people living in targeted areas by reducing poverty, unemployment and physical deterioration”. The SIF has four main areas of work, supporting communities to: — Increase employment opportunities by addressing things such as educational underachievement, lack of skills, access to jobs and making it appealing for businesses to start up in areas which have suffered deprivation; — Tackle issues such as mental and physical health, use of drugs and alcohol, becoming a young mother, young people’s involvement in anti-social behaviour and the ability of communities to work together, which can all be associated with deprivation; — Increase services in the community by improving existing facilities, making the environment better and providing additional facilities where needed and possible; — Address dereliction in order to make areas more appealing for investment and for those living there. Further information is available at www.ofmdfmni.gov.uk/social-investment-fund and www.nidirect.gov.uk/sif . Steering Groups Nine Social Investment Zones have now been established and each zone has a steering group of up to 14 members from the business, political, statutory and voluntary and community sectors. Each steering group will have responsibility for developing and managing plans for each zone. To begin with, each steering group has been tasked with developing a draft strategic area plan for their social investment zone. Local groups or other interested parties with ideas on the area planning process have been urged to contact their relevant steering group’s consultant. There will be up to 14 people per steering group: — Political x 4 representatives (Political parties, in proportion determined by D’Hondt, nominated MLAs, councillors or non-elected reps); — Statutory x 4 representatives (Senior level with authority to make decisions); — Voluntary and Community x 4 reps (Applications from the voluntary and community sector); — Business x 2 representatives (Key business organisations to nominate reps). Work is still being done to identify statutory and business reps for some steering groups, although Belfast City Council has nominated a member of staff to each of the Belfast steering groups and Derry City Council, Banbridge District Council, Down District Council, Larne Borough Council and Limavady Borough Council have members of staff on each of the other 5 zones’ steering groups. Membership of the nine steering groups’ political and voluntary and community representatives is analysed below. There are a total of 83 representatives confirmed so far, 36 from the voluntary and community sectors, 36 political representatives and 11 from the statutory sector. In addition, each steering group will be receiving the support of an appointed (paid) consultant, although the consultants are not technically members of the steering group. The charts below show membership of all 9 steering groups, broken down by interest. Political Reps Community Reps Support Consultants Developing Plans & Projects The guidance states that each zone should aim to have a small number of big projects (potentially 8-10 projects). These projects should be “addressing a prioritised need and have a range of local delivery partners across targeted areas across the zone”. The guidance also states that “the SIF is designed to be a process of consensual prioritisation within the Zones. Therefore, consortium projects are much more likely to be successful. It is important you register an interest. Projects can be rolled out in more than one area (with local community partners).” There is no proposed application process, although most steering groups asked local groups and stakeholders to get in touch with proposals by 31st December, 2012 and then extended this deadline to 31st January, 2013. Projects demonstrating wide community support will be prioritised and included within the area plan. Project plans will be agreed by an OFMDFM Ministerial led panel. It has been agreed that the following measures will be used to decide which areas are eligible across all 9 zones: — Areas within the top 10 per cent of most deprived Super Output Areas on the Multiple Deprivation Measure 2010; — Areas within the top 20 per cent of most deprived Super Output Areas on the key indicators of Income, Employment, Education and Health; — Areas which can provide independently verified and robust evidence of objective need linked to the four strategic objectives of the Social Investment Fund (see above). 9 SIF Themes Addressing Dereliction This theme is about tackling, in a quick and effective way, those areas, buildings or pieces of land which blight communities through dereliction. It includes: — Community gardens — Short-term environmental work on sites awaiting more substantive regeneration — Community play facilities — Anti-graffiti — Painting and shop front work — De-weeding, demolition or replacement of fences/gates. Refurbishment of Buildings for Community Services This theme can be linked to a number of other schemes but particularly dereliction. Can a rundown building be obtained for community use? Can it be re-furbished for a community service, a social enterprise unit or other community use? What is the best way to tackle rundown areas? Relevant options can be developed under this theme. Play & Sports Facilities This theme includes play parks, upgrading or new/improved play and sports facilities. Specific mention is made of communities working with schools to help improve and build new play and sports facilities on the school grounds which could be used by both the school and the community. Childcare Issues may include extending current provision, improving affordability, quality and/or creating new provision. This could include the expansion of childcare as a social enterprise model (as a single enterprise or within an overall community sustainability plan). Tackling Social Problems This theme is about tackling those social problems that bring communities down and/or prevent people having the opportunities they could have. These could include — Anti-drugs and anti-drink programmes — Youth at risk — Anti-social behaviour — Young mothers — Mental health, self-harm and suicide — Parenting support Youth Interventions aimed at youth should overlap with some of the other themes. The main aim would be to encourage young people to achieve more, become more employable and help them find pathways into employment. Education, youth at risk and NEETS are all key target groups. Skills & Training This should be targeted at encouraging people into employment and link into a range of other interventions to ensure maximisation of opportunities for successful outcomes. Educational Achievement Issues may include: — Parenting support in education — Better educational achievement — Targeting English and Maths — Improving education aspiration — Vocational and business start-up opportunities Social Enterprise Growth & Support This theme includes: — Encouraging sustainability within the sector — Increasing the number of community business start-ups — Providing opportunities for support in business planning and business start-up — Linking with training programmes and community social enterprise units. A project under this theme could be linked to tackling dereliction and refurbishment of community facilities to provide opportunities for a range of business start-ups. Zone Boundaries Four of the zones identified are broadly the same as the areas in which the Health and Social Care Trusts operate outside of Belfast. These are also the same areas that the Children and Young People’s Strategic Partnership (CYPSP)