Purpose

The purpose of the SING group is to provide a forum for regular 2-way communication between marginalised communities/groups working with a social inclusion remit at local level and the local authority and other support agencies.

SING provides an opportunity for members to:

• share experiences,
• provide peer support,
• discuss relevant plans and programmes of the LECP and their delivery.
• identify gaps in plans/programmes and additional initiatives that would benefit marginalised communities.
• monitor the impact of local polices as they relate to social inclusion, and
• to inform the biannual implementation plan for delivery of the LECP.

More detailed information on the purpose of this group can be found in the Groups Terms of Reference document.

Background

Wicklow Local Community Development Committee (LCDC) in collaboration with Wicklow PPN undertook some work to encourage engagement of marginalised communities in local planning and decision making.  This work was particularly related to the development of the new Local Economic & Community Plan (LECP) 2023 -2029.  Wicklow’s work was overseen by Pobal as part of the Dept. Rural & Community Development’s Dormant Accounts Funded Engagement Programme which fed into “A Guide for Inclusive Community Engagement in Local Planning & Decision Making” [second edition launched October 2023]

One of the main messages that emerged from this work was the need for regular communication between the local authority and marginalised communities/groups working with a social inclusion remit at local level.   This would help to make sure that plans like the LECP are delivering the supports that communities need, and that the plans could adapt to change if an unexpected need arises.

One of the suggestions put forward that might allow this to happen was the development of a social inclusion network that would be made up of marginalised communities and/or the groups that support them as well as the statutory agencies.  The development of this network became an action in the new LECP 2023-2029 and an inaugural meeting took place on 26^th July 2023.