PROGRAMME DIRECTOR: PATRICK STOAKES

An Irish Programme to Build Capacity of the LGBTI Sector

LGBT DIVERSITY

Background

The Building Sustainable LGBT Communities Programme established in 2009. A Transgender Strand (TENI) and LGBT Strand (LGBT Diversity)

LGBT Diversity a joint programme of 12 LGBT groups- national advocacy bodies (GLEN,LGBT Noise, Marriage Equality, NLGF, TENI) services with national remit (BelongTo) and local services (Cork Gay Project, Dundalk Outcomers, LinC, Outwest, Rainbow Support Services.)

Five staff members and Independent Chair

Programme Outcomes

Outcome 1: Existing services, groups, organisations, and centres that work with LGBT people have increased capacity

Outcome 2: People living in parts of Ireland that currently have little or no supports for LGBT people will have greater access to safe spaces/groups

Outcome 3: The LGBT sector in Ireland is more cohesive, with greater opportunities for shared experiences, shared learning and collaboration.

Classic Growth Model

Aims to increase the overall size of the sector.

Get more people involved.

Create more groups Move people up

the hierarchy of influence

Move groups up the hierarchy of influence

Strategic Refocus

The programme was conceived in the boom years, and its aspirations for growth fitted in to that time

The economic crisis made those aspirations much more challenging and the logic of the programme was shaken

A lot of the targets for the programme were met very early on, but keeping the momentum going for new developments is difficult

But needed to remember that what we trying to do was still needed

Sustainability Approach to Sector Building

Less interest in growth Capacity is therefore

defined as a combination of: the social capital of the sector (how different organisations relate); the quality of the service provided; the demonstrable need that is being met; and the broader social agenda that it is framed within.

Lessons Learnt

The advocacy gap is not a lack of local activists engaged with the big, national issues; but is rather lack of activists who can influence local and regional decision makers, or decision makers within specific fields

Capacity building should be aspirational, progressive and shouldn’t be afraid of having an agenda. But some groups will neither want nor need that kind of directional support

“Lone Ranger” community development doesn’t work

Successes

Leadership programme; creating networks of activists, shared vision, and mentor relationship with the major agencies

Joint development of regional strategies; the success being the process, collectively agreeing priorities and creating working relationships between community and mainstream

Follow through (research → seminar → action group → funded initiative)