10/03/2010 -

Sligo County Development Board

SLIGO COUNTY DEVELOPMENT BOARD

What is the Role of the County Development Board?

The County Development Board (CDB) has two main functions, one is to bring together all the main agencies that deliver services in the county to ensure that there is ‘joined up’ thinking and action among the agencies and between the three areas of economic, social and cultural development.  The other role is to act as a county team, driving specific initiatives that have a benefit for the county.  It was established in 2001 on a statutory basis and is the only structure that has membership from the four sectors of local government, state agencies, local development and the social partners.  There are thirty-one members from twenty-three organizations on the Board, who are the heads or representatives of their sectors and agencies. So it is a powerful grouping with a bird’s eye view of what‘s happening in County Sligo. 

What are the successes of the County Development Board?

Over the last 9 years the Board has delivered a number of successful projects by bringing together the expertise of its members and relevant local agencies.  In the area of social development the Board secured funding for the delivery of a number of projects in the County including Sligo Youth Council and a Lone Parents Initiative.

• Comhairle na nOg or Sligo Youth Council is a partnership involving Sligo County Council, Co Sligo VEC and Foroige.  Following a very successful AGM in October 2009, which had over 110 young participants we are now working with 25 young people aged between 15-18 who were democratically elected by their peers to represent their electoral areas on the countywide Comhairle na nOg.  We are working to develop the group as the recognised forum for young people in the county.
• We are also very proud of a very successful Lone Parent Career Planning Initiative which was led by Co Sligo VEC and involved a range of other local agencies.  The Project saw approximately 107 lone parents access education related to their individual need.  The Project was a runner up in the Chambers Excellence in Local Government Awards 2008 under the County Development Board Category.
• On the economic front the Board’s Economic Working Group members have been busy.  In 2009, four enterprise promotion events were held in Enniscrone Tubbercurry and Sligo town. These events are part of the effort to respond to needs in the face of the economic downturn. Work was also undertaken on surveying broadband provision in the county and discussions are ongoing with the Dept of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources on the National Broadband Scheme and the Rural Broadband Scheme.

What are the Board’s priorities for Sligo in the future?

The key issues being addressed by the Board are broadband, developing a more positive and extensive profile for Sligo, responding to job losses, education and up skilling, tourism, creative industries, cultural development and equality and inclusion. Each organisation that is represented on the Board has a role in some aspect of these issues in their own right, the focus of the Board is to add value to what each member is already doing and fill in where gaps exist, all with the intention of gaining a win for Sligo inc. rather than for any individual group or sector.  

One of the overarching objectives of the Board is to develop Sligo’s profile to ensure that the county is profiled as an attractive place to visit, live, work and invest in.   The Board are in the process of developing a new website www.sligo.ie with the aim of providing targeted on-line information on services and events in Sligo. It is intended that the site will be of interest to people sourcing details on business and enterprise, education, tourism, public services and current events in Sligo.  There are numerous local websites amongst the local agencies on the Board offering a wealth of information on Sligo.  It was felt that it would be most useful to streamline this information on one host site by providing a ‘one-stop-shop’ to channel on-line enquiries. The new site is being designed in such a way that it will be easy to navigate, and people will be able to access the required service area straight away.

The Board sees the importance of aligning Sligo’s economic development strategy with tourism and environmental sustainability.  Sligo’s attractive location and its pool of creative talent are highlighted by the Board as unique assets of the County.  Recent research from the Western Development Commission shows that Sligo has the second highest percentage of people working in the Creative Sector in the Western Development Commission Region at 4.2% of the county’s total employment.  With this in mind the County Development Board is looking at the role that creativity can play in the Economic, Social and Cultural Development of the county. Specific proposals will be considered in 2010

Social Inclusion and equality continue to be priorities for the Board and the Social Inclusion Sub Committee is co-ordinating a range of initiatives dealing with early school leaving, domestic violence, childcare, children’s services and new communities as well as services to Travellers, Older People, People with Disabilities and unemployed people.  The Joint Policing Committees and the RAPID Programme are also priorities that are monitored by the Board.

What ambitions have you for the recently launched CDB website?

In 2009 we launched two important initiatives, the CDB Priorities and Action Plan 2009-2012 and new website www.sligocdb.ie . The website is mainly informative and highlights the level of collaboration which exists in Sligo between local government, state agencies, local development agencies and the social partners including the community and voluntary sector. On the other hand the sligo.ie website that I spoke about earlier is different in that its focus is on promoting Sligo and providing a portal into the county.  We will be launching sligo.ie in the coming months.

The County Development Board has a very busy agenda?

I have only given a broad outline of the work of the Sligo CDB. I would encourage people to visit our website www.sligocdb.ie and to see for themselves the excellent work being delivered on the ground by the Board. Everyone with a sense of pride in their county can play their part, and the CDB will have a pivotal role in seeing Sligo grow and develop in the years ahead.

 
- Members of current Sligo County Development Board

Member agencies of Sligo County Development Board include: -

Sligo County Council, Sligo Borough Council, HSE Northwest, FAS, Teagasc, Co Sligo VEC, Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland, Institute of Technology Sligo, St Angela’s College, Western Development Commission, Dept of Education and Science, Dept of Social & Family Affairs, An Garda Siochana, Failte Ireland Northwest, Sligo County Enterprise Board, Sligo Leader Partnership Co, Sligo County Childcare Committee, Sligo Chamber of Commerce, ICTU, Sligo County Community Forum, ICMSA, Environmental Representative. 

 
- Chair of Sligo CDB, Councillor Tony McLoughlin