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My Town, My Plan - Towns Across Cork County Develop Ideas For Their Town’s Future Vision
27 October, 2020
Eight towns across Cork County have developed exciting new visions for their respective towns as part of the My Town, My Plan Community Training Programme.
The Hincks Centre for Entrepreneurship Excellence, part of the School of Business at Cork Institute of Technology designed and delivered the free programme which was funded through SECAD Partnership CLG. The objective of the programme was to provide an innovative approach to support future planning and development of community resources in towns and their hinterlands.
Community representatives from Carrigaline, Cobh, Clonakilty, Kinsale, Midleton, Rosscarbery, Skibbereen and Youghal committed to several months engagement and participation to collaborate and develop new ideas. Training workshops were used to provide information, stimulate discussions, link resources and develop ideas for each of the areas in conjunction with the community.
The programme comprised of four core topics, delivered by experts, on developing community projects/enterprises, moving from ideas to validation, legal structures/governance and strategic planning and were delivered in each town over eight evening sessions. In addition to the core topics, each town group selected four specialist topics most relevant to their town’s future development.
The face-to-face training and consultative sessions by expert facilitators began September 2019 but as Covid-19 hit in mid-March, the April and May sessions moved online.
Dr Helen McGuirk, Head of the Hincks Centre said, “We noticed one general theme across most towns and that is the idea of developing greenways/trails and parks, opening up new areas to be explored and enjoyed by locals and visitors. This is particularly pertinent with many Irish holidaymakers opting for a staycation this year due to Covid-19".
Dr McGuirk said the shared learning between the towns had been incredible and the Hincks Centre was delighted to have played a part in empowering these local communities. "It was all about the participants and stakeholders working together, thinking creatively, evaluating options and making collaborative decisions to develop clarity and vision for their individual town ideas," she added.
Identifying their town’s unique value proposition - participants from My Town, My Plan community training programme pictured at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Little Island L-R: Barry Cogan, Carrigaline; Melanie O’Driscoll, Cobh; Carol Harpur, Midleton and Mick McCarthy, Youghal.
Programme participant Ciaran Dineen from Carrigaline said the My Town, My Plan gave her the chance to share her thoughts and ambitions for the future of Carrigaline. "By meeting people who shared an appetite and desire to make a real difference, My Town, My Plan has encouraged me to move forward and build upon the conversations we have had with the information and knowledge around community development that has been provided. It has been a fantastic experience”.
Maaike Mijland, a representative from Cobh said the programme had helped to focus on community goals, provided guidance with project planning and offered a wealth of information from experts. "I really enjoyed connecting with my community and the facilitator and speakers were excellent and gave me useful tools, motivation and hope for the future”, she said.
Working together to achieve great things - participants of the My Town, My Plan community training programme delivered by the Hincks Centre for Entrepreneurship, pictured at Fernhill House Hotel, Clonakilty L-R: Sandra Gallagher, Skibbereen; Alan Clayton, Kinsale; Margaret O’Donovan, Clonakilty including Ballineen/Enniskeane and Dunmanway and Denis Calnan, Rosscarbery.
Two shared learning events took place online in September (West Cork) and October (South Cork) to showcase each town’s work so far and listen to great speakers from around the country on topics such as social enterprise, retail in towns and tourism. The live-streamed events also introduced the next phase of support that SECAD is offering through the LEADER 2014-2020 Programme.
For more information on the project please visit www.hinckscentre.ie
