Role of shared city partnership
The Shared City Partnership was established over two decades ago (formerly called the Good Relations Steering Panel) to provide a focus for good relations work in the city; create a strategic challenge to the council; and offer advice and guidance on challenging issues. It was deliberately created with representation from the main sectors (public agencies, community, Trade Union and faith representatives) and led by representatives from the main political parties with the council. It is currently chaired by a Councillor from the largest party (Sinn Féin) with a vice chair from the next largest party (DUP).
Since it was established, the Partnership was also tasked with the role of being the city’s partnership for overseeing the PEACE Programme, most latterly making decisions on the PEACEPLUS funding allocted to projects throughout the city. It has performeed effectively in that role.
The Shared City Partnership is reinvigorating its operation to refocus its functions providing challenge and strategic direction on good relations to the council and the City, and to explore being a stronger advocate.
Feedback from the consultation process suggests that the established Shared City Partnership has the potential to be robust in its provision of advice and strategic direction to the council.
The Shared City Partnership will be the focus and driver of the Whole Community, Whole Council approach to creating a more cohesive city, the ambition to support a transfomative rather than a performative agenda; and set and measure the outcomes and impact of the strategy.
In the first months of the strategy the Shared City Partnership will:
- Agree meaurement for the new strategy to support a cohesive city, based on a bespoke Belfast cohesion framework and consistent with the T:BUC Good Relations indicators and that link with the Global Peace Index Framework.
- Agree a reporting process and mechanism for cohesion in the city through the Shared City Partnership.
- Agree cohesion targets for 2035, a timeline consistent with the Belfast Agenda.
- Cement its relationship with us, ensuring it has a voice and challenge function approropiate for both its members and the role of the council as an elected organisation.
- Agree an annual reporting mechanism to Belfast City Council as a whole, reflecting the strategy’s Whole Community, Whole Council approach that provides an annual or bi-annual report on the city’s state of cohesion, with support from the Global Peace Index Framework.
