The Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action (NICVA)
THE CIVIC FORUM
SELECTION MECHANISM FOR VOLUNTARY / COMMUNITY SECTOR NOMINATIONS
1. INTRODUCTION
Disability Action, NICVA, the Rural Community Network and the Women's Resource and Development Agency have been charged with developing the mechanism for the voluntary and community sector nominations to the Civic Forum. This paper outlines the work undertaken by the Civic Forum Working Group of the four Regional organisations ( 4 R.O.'s) and provides a model and process for the selection mechanism.
2. CORE PRINCIPLES
The 4 R.O.'s have agreed core principles which will underpin the whole selection process, and which have been used as a guide throughout the work of the 4 RO's - that the process should be inclusive, transparent, accountable, equality-driven and effective.
3. THE TASK
In their report to the Assembly on 15 February 1999, the First Minister and Deputy First Minister laid out proposals for establishing a Civic Forum in Northern Ireland. The report included the following:
Paragraph 5.7: Specifically, all nominating bodies should adhere to the following guidelines( a) a gender balance; (b) a community background balance; (c) a geographic spread across Northern Ireland; and (d) a balanced age profile to include young people and older people."
Paragraph 5.11: "Voluntary / Community: A number of umbrella voluntary organisations, including the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action, the Rural Community Network, Disability Action and the Women's Resource and Development Agency, should be invited to assist in bringing forward a set of proposals on how eighteen nominations from the voluntary/community sector can be achieved. The process should ensure, in particular, that:
(a) A range of sub-sectoral groups (see below) are able through the formation of consortia to put forward nominations from within their own sub-sectoral groupings.
(b) The sub-sectoral groups are representative groups of older people, youth, women, people with disabilities, ethnic minorities, carers, families and children, community development, community health, community education and environmental groups.
(c) Nominations are sought through a public advertisement campaign to maximise the transparency of the process.
(d) Non- affiliation to/association with any of the umbrella bodies does not prevent sub-sectoral groups from making nominations."
Paragraph 5.19: " All nominations to the Civic Forum should adhere to the principles of public appointments being based on equality of opportunity, merit, openness and transparency of process."
4. THE ACTION OF THE 4 REGIONAL ORGANISATIONS
4.1 The 4 R.O.'s met with civil servants from the office of the First and
Deputy First Ministers in 1999. They took views from an ad-hoc group comprising
networks within the sub-sectoral groupings, and they met a number of times
to develop and test mechanisms with and without facilitators. A draft selection
mechanism was drawn up and went out to full consultation across the sector,
with three consultation seminars held in Armagh, Derry and Belfast held
in September 1999. |
