Peace III Southern Cluster Partnership: Strategic Grants
Overview
The Southern Councils cluster is led by Newry and Mourne District Council. The PEACE III Southern Partnership was formed on a cluster basis and covers the four Council Areas of Armagh, Banbridge, Craigavon, and Newry and Mourne. The Partnership was brought together to deliver Priority 1.1 in this cluster area, Phase 1 having been recently completed with Phase II currently being implemented through an action plan known as the Southern Partnership Peace and Reconciliation Action Plan (PRAP), the Plan for short.
The Strategic Grants Programme is aimed at organisations with the management and administrative capacity to deliver large scale projects involving many stakeholders. Ideally applicant organisations will have previous experience of managing EU funding. Projects will only be supported if they have a strong and meaningful peace and reconciliation focus i.e. promoting reconciliation and challenging attitudes towards sectarianism and/ or racism.
Aim: To provide appropriate groups/ organisations within the Cluster region grants of between £50,000 and £120,000 to establish and deliver initiatives that will improve trust, respect and reduce levels of sectarianism and racism.
The Partnership particularly welcomed/encouraged projects that could demonstrate an active partnership approach, cross community participation, cross border networking and applications from socially excluded groups/ organisations.
The purpose of this open call is to identify projects from properly constituted organisations with sound management and good governance arrangements with a track record of successful delivery that:
- demonstrate a meaningful focus on peace and reconciliation
- demonstrate active partnership in development and delivery of the activity
- demonstrate robust financial and administration systems
- complement existing and/ or planned activity in the cluster
- will take place between 1 April 2012 and 30 September 2013.
- Activity must begin no later than 30 September 2012;
Desired outcomes for the strategic grants programme include:
- increased community cohesion through attitudinal change – increase respect, trust and understanding within and between communities, providing sustained relationships
- positive impact upon behavioural patterns resulting in the reduced manifestation of sectarianism and racism in the community
- Good Relations embedded in the community at all levels through an increased shared vision of an interdependent and fair society
- innovative projects which work across a larger area within the cluster (either geographical or thematic)
- collaborative working on a partnership basis
- increased inter-community contact and corresponding improvement in knowledge/ perceptions of the “other”
- promotion of positive cultural expression on a cross-community and cross-cultural basis;
- increased understanding, interaction and capacity of individuals and community organisations to deal with and manage differences in a more peaceful manner
- increased shared enjoyment and ownership of public spaces
- reduction in tensions around interfaces, both psychological and physical
- progress towards removal/ reduction of physical barriers impairing mobility and regeneration efforts
- enhanced opportunities for dialogue and debate on cross community basis
- enhanced awareness of other cultures and backgrounds among participants
How much is available? The fund for the Strategic Grants Programme is approximately £780,000. Grants will be made to projects with a budget of between £80,000 and £120,000 that can demonstrate significant peace and reconciliation outcomes. Based upon previous experience under the first phase this will be a very competitive process.