Roscommon Environmental Network has been commissioned by Coalition 2030 to work with the PPNs in getting the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) incorporated into the new 6-year Local Economic and Community Plans (LECPs). As you will know, these are to be created in every local authority (City or County Council) area during 2022. Coalition 2030 is the civil society coalition committed to the implementation of the SDGs in Ireland. It is in this context that we are initiating this conversation with you. We are looking for your help in achieving this objective.
Right now your local authority has either commenced or is just about to commence the development of a new 6-year Local Economic and Community Plan (LECP). This plan will steer the way in which many millions of euros are spent in your communities, for good or for bad, until 2027. The LECP reaches into all aspects of the local authorities work and into all aspects of the communities of the county or city concerned.
When the first LECPs were being written in 2015, the PPNs were just being established and the whole process was a bit rushed, with public involvement as a casualty. This time around the process is much better designed and we have time to engage more effectively. Although the title, LECP, doesn’t mention the environment, the attached guidelines very clearly do. In particular, Climate Change is highlighted as an important underlying theme, along with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The first step in the development of the plan is the establishment of an LECP Advisory Steering Group for each local authority. This is a key body that will oversee the development and delivery of the plan, and it is really important that the PPNs are represented there. These LECP Advisory Steering Groups are being formed right now.
The Steering Group will be responsible initially for defining the initial High Level Goals of the plan on which the rest of the plan will be based. If your members want to help shape those High Level Goals then I suggest that your representatives on the LCDC and the Economic and Development SPCs should be encouraged to put their names forward ASAP. These are the two bodies that will respectively be working on the community and the economic dimensions of the LECP.
The suggested make-up and role of the steering group is outlined in the LECP Guidelines on pages 28-30. It will be a relatively small group, so it will be necessary to get in there early to make your case for inclusion. Generally it is the Director of Services for Community that leads on this in the local authority, but it may be different in your Council.
In the near future we intend to host a workshop for PPNs, looking at how best to ensure that the LECPs incorporate the SDGs. I will get back to you soon on that. In the meantime please do email or call me if you want to talk about any of the above.
You can find out more about the LECP processes here: https://www.gov.ie/en/policy/d5adb8-community-supports/