Research commissioned by the Local Development Companies Network finds Ireland’s communities are stronger when people have opportunities to connect, participate and build relationships through trusted local organisations and places.
Reports recommend sustained investment in locally led community connection initiatives as a foundation for stronger, more resilient communities and the Community Connection Project (CCP) delivered in Local Development Companies (LDCs) achieves just that.
CORK, 1st October – Reports launched today at the Local Development Companies Network National Conference highlighted the importance of local relationships, participation and trusted community organisations in helping communities navigate social change and build a stronger sense of belonging.
Building Cohesive Communities, Scoping Review for Community Connection Project and Community Connection Project, Learning Partner Final Report, provide new evidence on the role of community-led approaches in strengthening social cohesion and supporting communities across Ireland. Supporting direct contact between communities and undertaking activities with common goals are crucial to tackling fears and tensions.
Funded by the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht and delivered through Local Development Companies across Ireland, the Community Connection Project (CCP) supports Community Link Workers to work alongside residents, community groups, schools, sports clubs and local organisations to strengthen community connections. In communities across the country, this has included initiatives such as welcome cafés, community gardens, cultural events, women’s groups, sports programmes and school-based projects that bring people together through shared activities and create opportunities for relationships and trust to develop over time. Communities are dealing with an increasingly complex information environment; many are feeling unheard and excluded. The findings demonstrate that the approach of CCP, which embeds the work in broader place-based community development and leverages the existing, trusted relationships developed over decades in LDCs, is promising. The approach has focused on investing in community capacity to strengthen social infrastructure based on informal social networks and low barrier access. The research concludes that communities are best equipped to navigate change when people have opportunities to connect through everyday community life and trusted local organisations. Trust is not an abstract idea, but something built daily through relationships, ordinary everyday acts and presence in communities. The reports also find that community development approaches that benefit the whole community and that adapt to the local situation work best. Sustained, long-term investment in locally led community connection initiatives is recommended, recognising that meaningful relationships and participation take time to develop and are critical to building resilient communities.
An Taoiseach, Micheál Martin TD, who will be giving the closing address at the Local Development Companies Network conference said:
“Ireland’s strength has always come from the strength of its communities. These reports demonstrate how important local relationships, participation and trust are in helping communities respond positively to change.
The findings highlight the value of investing in community-led approaches that bring people together, strengthen understanding and create a sense of belonging. This work provides important learning for policymakers and communities alike as we continue to build inclusive, resilient and connected communities across Ireland.”
Jerry Buttimer TD, Minister of State at the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht and at the Department of Transport, said:
“At a time when communities across Ireland are experiencing significant social change, these reports demonstrate the importance of supporting people to connect, participate and shape their communities together.
The research shows that trusted local organisations and place-based development have a vital role to play in building resilience, strengthening social cohesion and fostering a sense of belonging. I want to thank the Local Development Companies, Community Link Workers and More in Common for their commitment and leadership in developing this important body of work.”
Máirín Ó Cuireáin, Chief Executive Officer of the Local Development Companies Network, said:
“These reports affirm Local Development Companies approach working in communities across Ireland: when people have opportunities to come together, participate and build relationships, communities become stronger and more resilient.
The Community Connection Project has enabled communities to create welcoming, inclusive spaces where people can connect through shared interests, local activities and community participation. The findings provide a strong evidence base for continued investment in locally led approaches that strengthen trust, belonging and community life.”
Conleth Burns, Associate Director for More in Common Ireland says:
“Over the last six months, it has been a privilege to see the work of Community Link Workers and Local Development Companies first hand, in communities right across Ireland. From conversations in every corner of the country, and against the evidence we examined across Ireland and Europe, it is clear that the Community Connection Project has made a very promising start. The programme is helping communities – in towns, cities, villages and rural areas – to handle change and division better, and it is building stronger foundations to bring people and communities together.
As questions of social cohesion sharpen across Ireland and around the world, building trust locally, patiently and through organisations people already know is not a nice-to-have, but is rather the work that so much else depends on.”
The reports draw on extensive engagement with communities across Ireland, site visits, stakeholder interviews and international evidence from across Europe. Together, they provide an important evidence base for policymakers, practitioners and community organisations seeking to strengthen community cohesion, participation and belonging.
Notes to Editors
- The Community Connection Project is funded by the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht and delivered through Local Development Companies across Ireland with the Local Development Companies Network as the lead partner.
- The project supports Community Link Workers (CLW) to help communities navigate social change, strengthen connections and foster social cohesion.
- Community Connection Project, Learning Partner Final Report was produced by More in Common Ireland in its role as learning partner to the Community Connection Project.
- Building Cohesive Communities, Scoping Review for Community Connection Project examines Irish and international evidence on community connection, integration and social cohesion.
- The reports were launched at the Local Development Companies Network National Conference, an Associated EU Presidency Event, a two-day conference 1-2 October, with leaders, policymakers, researchers and practitioners exploring how local development can help build a more inclusive, resilient and sustainable Ireland.
Sample Case Studies
Community connection work succeeds when it is locally rooted and relationship-led; when activities are open to everyone rather than badged for one group; when contact is practical, repeated and ordinary rather than one-off and awareness-focused; and when workers have the time, focus and organisational backing to stay with difficult conversations.
In Cork city, the CLW has leaned in deliberately on the arts, drawing on Cork’s strong traditions of community theatre and visual arts – storytelling, mythology and cultural activity. Using an arts-led community garden and arts space on Kyrl’s Quay,in a very mixed part of the city, this derelict site has been to experiment in wider engagement across children, families and older people living alone. These practices can engage older residents and those who have made Cork city their home through shared activity and having a space that is open.
Wexford: The most visible strand of the work has been in schools. Working with more than12 schools across Wexford and the Schools of Sanctuary, the CLW has delivered sessions on misinformation and disinformation about migrants – reaching over 1,200 students – alongside public talks at Wexford Library and community venues, talks to Active Retirement groups and Men’s Sheds, and regular local media appearances, including radio interviews responding directly to racist incidents
Knock, Co. Mayo – The core of the work is a programme of monthly events at the newly refurbished community centre bringing newcomers and established residents together – the hub from which the county-wide spokes the CLW has linked in with extend, with library and other partners invited into the village in turn. It shows integration happening in shared community infrastructure, giving people a reason to be in the same place. It showed the importance of time, shared activity and repeated contact.
About the Local Development Companies Network (LDCN)
The Local Development Companies Network (LDCN) is the national representative body for Ireland’s network of Local Development Companies. LDCN supports and advocates on behalf of Local Development Companies, which deliver a wide range of social inclusion, rural development, community development, enterprise and employment, and integration programmes in communities throughout Ireland.
Local Development Companies work with individuals, families and communities experiencing disadvantage, helping to build stronger, more inclusive and sustainable communities. Collectively, they deliver over 100 programmes and services on behalf of Government Departments and State agencies, which include programmes and measures that strengthen participation and community wellbeing.
LDCN supports collaboration, learning exchange and fosters innovation across the sector, ensuring that local knowledge, community intelligence and community experience informs national policy and programme development, strengthening the conditions for effective place-based development.
Through commissioning research such as this work on the Community Connection Project, the network plays a key role in supporting community-led responses to social change, strengthening social cohesion and fostering a sense of connection and belonging across communities nationwide.
For more information, visit: www.ldcn.ie.
About More in Common
More in Common is a research agency and think tank working across Europe, the US and Brazil. More in Common helps leaders in politics, media, civil society and business understand what is driving division in their societies, and what brings people together. More in Common Ireland works leaders across Irish society and served as learning partner to the Community Connection Project.