Cooperation in civil society

1
Cooperation in civil society

• Brian Harvey,
• Centre for Cross Border Studies,
• Dundalk, co Louth, 12th June 2008

2
Purpose of presentation

• Origins, development civil society cooperation
  across Irish border
• Current state of development
• Issues arising
• Sources
• The Emerald Curtain (Triskele, 2005)
• Two paths, one purpose (UU, 2005)
• Audit community development, border region (DIT,
  2007)
• Welfare state, voluntary action older people
  (UU, 2008)

3
Origins development

• Nothing new! Civil society project in 1925
• Many civil society groups continued to organize
  on all-island basis esp. sport, humanitarian,
  academic, churches, social
• Some continued on British Isles basis (TUs)
• Irish border never intended as fortress border,
  an emerald curtain
• But governments drew apart
• 1949 decisive for social policy

4
Track 2 diplomacy

• By 1968, separate paths of development
• Troubles inspired track 2 diplomacy
  (Cooperation North, Glencree etc)
• 1991 Joint Business Council in advance of single
  market
• Delors Peace programme (1994) decisive
• There had been no investment in civil society
  after previous ceasefires (1923, 1963). Necessary
  to sustain peace process itself, reinvest border
  region.

5
A changed dynamic

• Peace I 18,000 projects
• We could chart rise in cross border projects
• Peace II smaller number of larger, more focussed
  projects
• Included cross-border strand
• The evolution of INTERREG from governmental
  cooperation to cross border, introduction civil
  society in 3.1 of INTERREG III
• North-South vs border region debate

6
Civil society cross border cooperation now

• Its normal, routine, not news any more
• 65 for NGOs in NI, 85 RoI, border region
• Ranges occasional, once-off gt permanent, formal
• Courtship generally from south
• Some of it quite far from border itself
• Main areas community development (30), youth
  (25), old people (15), social disadvantage
  (transversal theme).

7
Features, aspects, characteristics

• Takes time to develop
• More expensive (e.g. travel, finance, phones)
• NGOs know how to work across the border,
  governments dont
• Models of good practice are transferred across
  border, mainly N to S mental health,
  environment, volunteering
• Role of the social entrepreneur

8
Different organizational forms

• Two NGOs cooperate on once-off, time-limited
  project
• Two separate NGOs form committee for longer, more
  formal project
• Single branded NGO working across border
  (colonizing) (normally NI based)
• Cluster of NGOs, with anchor NGO
• Integrated partnership, generally for townland,
  river basin, single entity

9
Issues arising

• No funding stream for on-going cross border
  cooperation. Surprising for RoI.
• Failure to maximize potential (CD institute).
• Long list of cross border issues identified by
  civil society still not addressed
• Back to back planning (broadband, spatial
  strategy, stats)
• Social and health services (hospitals, post, bus
  licences)
• Additional costs across border (banks, phones)
• Incompatibility of public administrations (fire,
  environment)
• Funding rules (childcare, housing, arts)

10
The big issue arising

• Need for a voice for civil society, to
• - Improve efficiency in cooperation.
• - Feed issues into govt which only govt can
  address
• - Make border region a desirable economic
  social place
• - Re-balance north-south discourse hard
  infrastructure to balance economic social -
  environmental
• Agreed at GFA 19
• Renewed at St Andrews 22
• Different ideas (civil society org. want a
  practical, working body, solving problems)
• Thank you!