Current Projects

To work to embed quality community work in practice and policy

Promotion & Dissemination of Towards Standards for Quality Community Work

  • The CWC is committed to the promotion & dissemination of Towards Standards for Quality Community Work. With support from the Combat Poverty Agency the CWC carried out a series of regional workshops from March to June 2009. There is currently no funding available to the CWC to continue this work. However, if you are interested in discussing the possibilities of organising a workshop in your area contact Oonagh McArdle at oonaghmcardle@cwc.ie.

  • The CWC is continuing to resource and support the Towards Standards Ad Hoc Group, which is focusing on the development of a Framework of Endorsement for community work

To resource and support the community sector

The CWC continues to work to resource and support the community sector by analysing and publishing material of interest to the community sector. Currently the CWC is working on  the following:

Strategy Guide on Climate Change for community organisations.

This is currently the main work of the CWC Community Work & Sustainable Development Subgroup and will produce a Strategy Guide on Climate Change for community organisations to support and encourage them to respond to climate change. To inform this work, participative workshops were held in three regional locations. Using the scenarios approach to look into the future, these workshops allowed participants to become aware of the issues that may arise for them and decide how they could respond given their own capacity and needs. Regional workshops were held in Cork, Galway and Dublin. The report is currently in draft form and will be published in the autumn of 2009. 

Ireland in Social Europe: Challenging Perceptions, Changing Realities

Ireland in Social Europe: Challenging Perceptions, Changing Realities is a project being led by EAPN Ireland with the CWC, Northern Irish Anti Poverty Network (NIAPN); the Irish National Organisation for the Unemployed (INOU); the Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice (VPSJ), and Cork City Council Social Inclusion Unit. The core objectives of the project are: (1) Enhance understanding of experiences of poverty in Ireland and promote a national debate on its implications for social policy; (2) Raise awareness of the added value of a European approach to ending poverty and social exclusion during and in the run up to 2010; (3) Promote innovative strategies so that the EU, through the OMC, can add value to the fight against poverty in Ireland.

Comment & Analysis

The CWC resources and supports its members and  the community sector by analysing and commenting on policy and other developments of relevance to the sector. Latest comment & analysis can be accessed here - Comment & Analysis

To contribute to the development of structures that support and enable quality community work

  • The CWC will continue to positively influence government policy in relation to community work. We will seek to ensure that structures being developed and redeveloped are such that they enable quality community work to take place.