Community Support Plan

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Community Support Plan 2025-2029

Belfast City Council’s City & Neighbourhood Services Department has produced a draft Community Support Plan for our Community Services Unit (2025-2029) which sets out the basis for how these Services provide support to local communities and residents.

The Council’s Community Support Plan outlines how we seek to support a better engaged and more resourceful community. We do this through our resources and community facilities and the support we provide to community and voluntary organisations that provide relevant services.

The production of a Community Support Plan

  • Provides a clear articulation of our community support priorities and the resources required to deliver on these priorities.
  • Details how priorities will be supported through a funding programme.
  • Agrees outcomes for Community Support activity that will drive the delivery of activity from 25/29.

The Community Support Plan (CSP) includes

  1. Council community service delivery; and
  2. Funding made available by Council to community and voluntary sector organisations across the city.

What is included in the Plan

Supports and Services the Council will deliver

  • Access to facilities will be supported through increased promotion of council assets and services ensuring that local facilities deliver activity that meets the needs of communities.
  • Take a lead role in developing and facilitating collaboration between community organisations and council.
  • Deliver appropriate mentoring and training for community organisations.
  • Support volunteer recruitment and development.

Supports and Services that will be delivered via community / voluntary organisations through Council funding

  • Funding for activity that contributes to the agreed Community Support Plan priorities which are listed below.
  • Large, multi-annual grants which will provide support towards core running/staff costs and programme delivery
  • Small grants for community activities

Strategic Priorities for Inclusion in the Plan

The following priorities are included in the new Community Support Plan:

  1. Creating active, engaged and resilient communities
  2. Ensuring access to quality community facilities
  3. Joining up community support through partnership development and collaboration

How we will implement our Community Support Plan

Council Service Delivery Priorities

  • Developing operational action plans under key priorities
  • Refreshing funding programmes to reflect community needs.
  • Supporting volunteering by creating new and better opportunities for people to make a difference to their communities.
  • Leading networking, co-ordination and partnership development in local communities to create active, engaged and resilient communities.
  • Providing access to mentoring and training for community organisations
  • Reviewing the current provision of council community facilities across the city.
  • Delivery and co-ordination of activity programmes.

Our Funding Plan

From 2026 we will offer funding through the following approach.

Funding Programme

Key Features

1

Large Grants

  • Value – to be agreed following feedback from formal consultation with stakeholders
  • Multi-annual funding – up to a 3 year programme.

2

Small Grants

  • Value – to be agreed following feedback from formal consultation with stakeholders
  • Delivered within 1 year period.

3

Social Supermarkets

  • Value up to £50k - Annual open call application

4

Advice

  • Support provision of free, independent, accessible advice through network of Advice NI registered providers

5

Summer Schemes

  • Value up to £2,500 - Annual application

How we will continue to include you

Your involvement is important to us, and we will continue to engage with residents and partners in the Voluntary and Community sector to make sure that delivery is addressing key issues and needs impacting local community services.

If you require the full version of the plan, please email community@belfastcity.gov.uk

Community Support Plan 2025-2029

Belfast City Council’s City & Neighbourhood Services Department has produced a draft Community Support Plan for our Community Services Unit (2025-2029) which sets out the basis for how these Services provide support to local communities and residents.

The Council’s Community Support Plan outlines how we seek to support a better engaged and more resourceful community. We do this through our resources and community facilities and the support we provide to community and voluntary organisations that provide relevant services.

The production of a Community Support Plan

  • Provides a clear articulation of our community support priorities and the resources required to deliver on these priorities.
  • Details how priorities will be supported through a funding programme.
  • Agrees outcomes for Community Support activity that will drive the delivery of activity from 25/29.

The Community Support Plan (CSP) includes

  1. Council community service delivery; and
  2. Funding made available by Council to community and voluntary sector organisations across the city.

What is included in the Plan

Supports and Services the Council will deliver

  • Access to facilities will be supported through increased promotion of council assets and services ensuring that local facilities deliver activity that meets the needs of communities.
  • Take a lead role in developing and facilitating collaboration between community organisations and council.
  • Deliver appropriate mentoring and training for community organisations.
  • Support volunteer recruitment and development.

Supports and Services that will be delivered via community / voluntary organisations through Council funding

  • Funding for activity that contributes to the agreed Community Support Plan priorities which are listed below.
  • Large, multi-annual grants which will provide support towards core running/staff costs and programme delivery
  • Small grants for community activities

Strategic Priorities for Inclusion in the Plan

The following priorities are included in the new Community Support Plan:

  1. Creating active, engaged and resilient communities
  2. Ensuring access to quality community facilities
  3. Joining up community support through partnership development and collaboration

How we will implement our Community Support Plan

Council Service Delivery Priorities

  • Developing operational action plans under key priorities
  • Refreshing funding programmes to reflect community needs.
  • Supporting volunteering by creating new and better opportunities for people to make a difference to their communities.
  • Leading networking, co-ordination and partnership development in local communities to create active, engaged and resilient communities.
  • Providing access to mentoring and training for community organisations
  • Reviewing the current provision of council community facilities across the city.
  • Delivery and co-ordination of activity programmes.

Our Funding Plan

From 2026 we will offer funding through the following approach.

Funding Programme

Key Features

1

Large Grants

  • Value – to be agreed following feedback from formal consultation with stakeholders
  • Multi-annual funding – up to a 3 year programme.

2

Small Grants

  • Value – to be agreed following feedback from formal consultation with stakeholders
  • Delivered within 1 year period.

3

Social Supermarkets

  • Value up to £50k - Annual open call application

4

Advice

  • Support provision of free, independent, accessible advice through network of Advice NI registered providers

5

Summer Schemes

  • Value up to £2,500 - Annual application

How we will continue to include you

Your involvement is important to us, and we will continue to engage with residents and partners in the Voluntary and Community sector to make sure that delivery is addressing key issues and needs impacting local community services.

If you require the full version of the plan, please email community@belfastcity.gov.uk

  • How we developed the Community Support Plan

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    In June 2024, we began a 3-stage process to develop our new Community Support Plan. As part of this process, we held nine public sessions and carried out an online survey to help us understand the key issues across the city and to agree the outcomes and priorities to be included in the new Community Support Plan.

    We asked

    We wanted to understand the current key priorities are facing communities and get feedback from community organisations about how community support services and funding should be approached moving forward.

    You said

    Generally, respondents valued the community support provided by council and spoke positively about council officers and the help they provided to residents and local communities. suggested ways in which council service delivery and funding, could be improved included:

    • Communities welcome the provision of Council owned and operated community centres / community spaces. These offer a low cost, safe and accessible space for community activities and service delivery.
    • It was suggested that access to facilities could be enhanced through increased promotion of centre facilities and services / activities; increased consistency of services delivered and ensuring that local facilities deliver activity that meets the needs of user communities.
    • There was feedback that provision of facilities is not always consistent across the city and that some facilities need modernisation.
    • Council playing a lead role in facilitating / stimulating networking and collaboration between community organisations at local level.
    • Proactively encouraging and facilitating collaboration between Council community centres and wider stakeholders to ensure community support and programming is delivered in a co-ordinated way that adds value and reduces duplication.
    • Provision of appropriate training / coaching / mentoring for community organisations, ensuring non-duplication with what is already being delivered.
    • Supporting volunteer development, including additional volunteer capacity and increased volunteer skills.

    Respondents also stressed that communities needed ongoing support from council to deliver community services and activities. Suggested priorities for council funding included:

    • Providing ongoing and increased funding for core running costs of community operated facilities.
    • Funding for core costs of running a community or voluntary organisation not linked to the provision of buildings / community facilities.
    • Funding for capacity building activities to addresses identified gaps / deficits.
    • Grant programmes should offer an opportunity for consortia / collaborative bids for programme / service delivery.
    • Grant programmes should offer a variety of funding scales from small short-term grants for community activities to multi-annual grants for programme / service delivery.

    The maximum grant available for community facility revenue costs should be increased recognising increased utilities and running costs experienced by community organisations.

    We did

    We have sought to incorporate these suggestions into our new community support plan.

    • Stevie to add description of how we have taken this on board

Page last updated: 14 Apr 2025, 12:11 PM