Project
The Limerick Mayor project facilitates a public consultation process for Limerick people concerning the establishment of a Directly Elected Mayor. A series of ‘community conversations’ will invite Limerick people to examine their attitudes, expectations and hopes regarding the new mayor’s role.
In response to COVID-19, this consultation will be predominantly online, with face to face meetings under strict social distancing rules. The project has developed a range of online resources to enable friends and family groups to facilitate and record their own opinions.
Limerick is the first and so far the only county in Ireland to agree to establish a directly elected Mayor with executive powers. As such there is no blueprint to inform how this new style of Mayor will work. This project is designed to raise public awareness about the creation of a new kind of Mayor for Limerick, and to provide an opportunity for any associated challenges to be surfaced in advance of its establishment. The project will provide a well-designed, creative and inclusive consultative process that contribute added-value to existing developmental strategies in Limerick by creating a positive momentum for change.
This project is a collaboration between:
• The Supportive CWELL project team
• The Department of Politics and Public Administration, UL
• Limerick City and County Council
• Limerick Youth Services
• Limerick Public Participation Network
• E-Townz
• The University of Limerick Community Engagement Faciltator, CWELL
In all, 21 facilitated community consultations were hosted —primarily online. Facilitator guides and video resources provided on the project website, enabled smaller family groups or friends to host their own conversation. Provision was also made for individuals to input into the conversation via a survey link on the project website.
In total 927 respondents answered the survey questionnaire.
Learning
This module comprises workshop-based project management training delivered in CWELL classes with practical, experiential learning, applied in a community- based project, designed to address an identified need. Module delivery comprises a series of practical exercises, designed to support knowledge of, and capacity building for project management. Students taking this module will be expected to design and deliver a community- based project to address an identified need.
Community voices should be an integral part of planning for the future of Limerick. In 2019, Limerick voted to elect its mayor directly and expand the role to have more significant influence over policy. The community conversation project is a way of keeping the line of communication open between the people of Limerick and their elected representatives.
‘Community Conversations’ are designed to provide an inclusive and safe space for Limerick people to share their opinions and meaningfully contribute to public debate.
The supportive CWELL group works in collaboration with:
• The Department of Politics and Public Administration, UL
• Limerick City and County Council
• Limerick Youth Services
• Limerick Public Participation Network
• E-Townz
• The University of Limerick Community Engagement Faciltator, CWELL
There will be two assessments points to this module, each worth 50% of your final mark. The first assessment will comprise a site visit to your project by a panel of CWELL assessors. The second assessment will comprise the creation of a Project Portfolio detailing the project’s design and implementation and your participation in it. Guidelines concerning the creation of portfolios are available from the module’s Sulis site.