Local Strategy Partnerships: Political Vision

The Peace I process contributed significantly to the development of partnership working on an inclusive and participative basis and brought about partnerships that would not have been possible before.

In reaffirming the Executive's vision for the development of Partnership working and the way ahead for LSPs, both in the context of the Peace II Programme and in the context of wider policy development, the then Minister for Finance and Personnel made explicit the desire to ensure the evolution of local partnership structures which would be sustainable beyond the period of the Peace II Programme.

“ Developing partnership working on an inclusive and participative basis is central to the Executive's objectives for the PEACE ll Programme and for wider policy development. PEACE ll is a useful and important focus for the development of partnership, but the principle is much more important to us than that. PEACE ll is a finite programme. The principle of partnership is central to the long-term vision of the Executive for the way things should be done in Northern Ireland”.

“ Partnerships cannot and should not be simply biodegradable containers for the distribution of European funding. On the contrary, the Executive wants to see partnerships developing a sustainable way of working”.

Critical to the success of sustainable partnership working is the forging of an effective and mutually beneficial relationship with Local Council Members and Officers.

“ Any approach which keeps PEACE ll partnership work separate and isolated from the mainstream of policy development and strategic planning for each council area would limit the value of the PEACE ll process and could represent, a significant missed opportunity, and that would not be in the long term interests of any participants whether from a local government, social partner, central government or any other perspective ”.

The political vision for Local Strategy Partnerships thus placed emphasis on partnership for the long term: offering a civic voice alongside politicians and officials in key discourses set to shape public administration and governance in the coming years.

Within Belfast, the Belfast LSP Board has sought to ground the political vision, outlined above, in the reality of the development framework of the City: and, in defining it’s role, to adopt a clear and challenging role in the promotion of reconciliation and regeneration.

Towards those ends, the Board have adopted a set of guiding principles for the Belfast LSP’s work:

• We are intent on challenging the conventional discourse about conflict resolution. The traditional vocabulary and exchanges can lock protagonists into fixed positions and perspectives. We are keen on projects that adopt a fresh creative approach to our long-standing enmities, take risks for peace-building, and elevate civic over ethnic leadership.
   
• We do not regard it as helpful to have different regeneration strategies for different areas in Belfast. We want to move beyond the fractured forms of city development that can arise from this fragmented approach. Instead of thinking of distinctive strategies for Laganside, city centre, and communities ––– or of different strategies for Protestant and Catholic communities ––– we affirm the concept of ONE CITY, an open city for all, based on equity and opportunity, that requires a common vision and strategic framework for its effective development.
   
• Beyond ethnic or even neutral space we value projects which advance the provision of shared space in the city ––– space that actively facilitates common activity and engagement across religious, political, and cultural traditions.
   
• We recognise that the future of Belfast cannot rely on subsidy, whether from Westminster or Brussels. Accordingly, we want to promote projects which contribute to more independent forms of economic development, and which help to create a new niche for the city in an increasingly global economy.
   
• Rather than encouraging continued sprawl and dispersed development around Greater Belfast, we affirm the concept of a compact city, which facilitates brownfield over greenfield development, thereby helping to regenerate the inner city, while better protecting the environment from negative impacts of commuting such as congestion and pollution.
   
• While it is critical to support communities on the basis of their need and levels of deprivation, it is also important to encourage those communities to develop on the basis of their endowments and assets. Thus, we will welcome applications that highlight the positive attributes of a community and how these can be augmented by further resources.
   
• In affirming Belfast City Council’s role as Civic leaders, in our view, no one organisation or agency in the city is capable by itself of delivering Belfast’s sustainable improvement. Thus, we regard collaborative leadership in Belfast to be a critical condition for its progress. This form of new governance –– that welcomes inclusive civic involvement and inter-agency co-operation –– informs the practice of our own partnership, and is a quality we wish to promote throughout the city.

The conundrum of a Board like the BLSP is that on the one hand it should be representative of Belfast. Yet, being so, it will by the same token reflect the divisions of Belfast. Its challenge is to be once reflective of the City and a challenge of the City.

Outline on Measures