Community Development Strategy and Community Support Plan 2011-14

People We consulted with local communities and partner organisations on our Community Development Strategy and Community Support Plan for 2011-2014.

Following this consultation, we have produced our final strategy and plan.

More information

To find out more about our Community Development Strategy and Community Support Plan for 2011-2014, contact us at:

Cate Taggart
Community Development Manager
Development Department
Belfast City Council
4-10 Linenhall Street
Belfast
BT2 8BP

Telephone: 028 9027 0484
Email: community@belfastcity.gov.uk

Background information

Why do we need a Community Development Strategy?

Many organisations in Belfast are doing important community development work or contributing to community development outcomes. However, neither the statutory sector or the local community and voluntary sectors have established a shared understanding of what they mean by community development and what they want to achieve from it.

This makes it more difficult for the council and other agencies to identify and share priorities, target resources efficiently and measure the success of what they are doing. It also makes it harder for organisations to plan and work together to achieve common aims within communities. As a result, we are committed to designing a strategy which addresses these issues.

What is a Community Support Plan?

Much of our community development work is done through our Community Services section which manages community centres, grant programmes and community development staff across Belfast.

This work is partly funded by the Department for Social Development's Community Support programme which aims to strengthen local communities, increase participation and promote social inclusion through community groups, community activity and local advice services.

To be eligible for funding, we have to prepare a Community Support Plan that describes how we will deliver services which help to achieve these goals. You can find out more about the Community Support programme on the Department for Social Development website

The priorities and projects identified in our own Draft Community Support Plan - which runs until 2014 - are heavily influenced by our Draft Community Development Strategy. Our plan is one the first major outcomes of this strategy.