| About
Rapid |
 |
 Rapid
National |
|
| Rapid
in Kilkenny |
|
| Community
Participation |
|
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Community Participation Community participation is a core principle of the RAPID programme; therefore the Area Implementation Team (AIT) is committed to the ongoing development of inclusive strategies of participation for residents, voluntary organisations and the wider community, and recognises local knowledge and expertise as the foundation from which the RAPID Strategic Plan has been developed The AIT recognises the importance of agencies and communities working together strategically to develop an understanding of the needs of communities and supports a partnership approach in resourcing integrated solutions to identified needs. The AIT will
continue building the participation structures within the community
of the designated areas so that residents/community reps. can make
appropriate recommendations to meet their needs. The AIT will also
work towards building the capacity of these communities to be in
a position to monitor the effective implementation of these recommendations.
With the enthusiasm
and co-operation from the people in RAPID areas over 300 residents
participated in a number of workshops since October 2002. A number
of new community resident / development associations have been assisted
and existing associations developed under the RAPID process . We
aim to have community representatives for all of the areas identified
under RAPID by September 2003.
In order for each community to participate to it's full potential it was acknowledged that each new communuity should have the opportunity to be represented at COG. COG ( Community Organisation group) set just over eight years ago with the aim of providing a voice for communities in the city and it's surrounds. COG has paid a key role in local decision making providing a forum for local issues to be raised were approached and agreed to accept new groups onto it's structure. In order to implement for the successful transition of new communities onto COG it was decided to set up a training programme designed to assist new participating communities in the transition onto the city based forum. It was also agreed that each new community would join the forum in a structured way with one new community joining per quarter.  COG
since its inception philosophy has been based on participation the
organisation presently meets once a month.
COG will play a key role in the on-going development of the RAPID process, it's existing structures will provide a forum for the prioritisation of future developments. COG is
presesently made up of, Loughboy Area Resource Center, Newpark Close,
St., The Disability sector, a representative from the Traveller
community , Kilkenny's Women's Network, Bishop Birch Place, the
Butts, Hebron Park and the Eary Years group.
 To
continue to provide relevant training to the participating communities
Following the Community Mapping workshops it wasidentified that there
is a need to run a training programme in generic community development
practices and running an effective committees. As a follow on from
these training we intend to develop other programmes depending on
the respective community needs e.g. action planning, funding applications,
team building etc.
We have identified that there is a need to host a generic community information session, providing a forum for development workers, agencies, and voluntary organisations to make presentations on services available. Project Proofing / Prioritisation Process Introduction The County Social Inclusions Measures Group have asked the Kilkenny Area Implementation Team to look at developing a Project Proofing / Prioritisation system in conjunction with Community representatives. The Kilkenny RAPID AIT have commenced the process in conjunction with the COG the Kilkenny Community Organisation group. It is acknowledged that this process is a pioneering one and aims to build on existing structures both at agency and Community level. The process on presentation to SIM is one which could be mirrored across the County. It is also acknowledged that there is no relevant National system in place at community level and that time should be given to developing the process. The project proofing process is not about prioritising existing projects in identified RAPID areas rather encouraging a strategic and generic focused approach to inclusive project development and application. What are the benefits of the project proofing process ?
A number of workshops have taken place with both the AIT and the COG ( Community Organisation Group )
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
All
new residents associations have been and will continue to be facilitated
through the RAPID Process. PRA ( Participatory Rapid Appraisal )
techniques are being used successfully to gather information about
each community/neighbourhood quickly and effectively. The community
appraisal is a rapid process, it can involve a wide section of the
community who do not normally fill in questionnaires or go to meetings.
Because it involves across-section of the local community coming
together and "holding a mirror up " to their neighbourhood
it also creates conditions for consensus-based action planning.
The
types of information that can be gathered can include environmental
trends, population trends, local history, external and internal
influences on the community, aspirations and priorities for the
future. The process is facilitated by Newground ,a highly experienced
training organisation. The workshops are designed to be informal
and enjoyable and last for around 2 hours. 
The
Kilkenny AIT will continue facilitate newly established community
groups take an active role in highlighting present issues within
their communities and looks at developing structured methods of
bringing such issues to the table. The Community Mapping workshops
also provides a forum for individuals to get to no each other and
leads to a more united approach to addressing community needs.
The
further development of the recently established community forum.
The idea for the setting up of a South Eastern Community forum evolved
from the First South Eastern RAPID Conference held in Kilkenny in
Feb 2003. The forum will will play a key role in cementing community
links in existing RAPID urban areas through the sharing of experiences
, idea generation, and the encouragement of best practice. The forum
and community participants will be supported by each RAPID.
