Fingal Community Facilities Network (FCFN) is a network of Fingal County Council supported community facilities from across the county of Fingal. FCFN is the main link through which the local authority connects with those involved in the management and operation of community facilities. FCFN was established in 2017 and is supported by Fingal County Council’s Community Development Office. The network currently provides support to 31 community facilities and has 60 registered members.
The main aim of the network is to:
- Promote networking as a means of developing synergies, sharing skills and providing a support framework for those involved in the management and operation of community facilities
- Address training needs identified across the network and provide access to training through the Community development Office’s Master Class Program, training links program and other relevant training bodies which in turn provide training opportunities to support facility managers, staff and volunteers.
- Share skills and synergies across all sites through networking
- Act as a platform for network members engaged in the management and operation of community facilities in Fingal to develop policies and highlight issues of common concern to community facilities and progress on these issues.
- Explore bulk buying and get better value for money in areas such as insurance, maintenance etc
- To establish a number of working groups that aim to focus on specific projects
- Network Steering Group
- Remobilisation working group
- Fingal Keen to be Green Facilities Project
- Web development working group
FCFN Steering Committee
The Fingal Community Facilities Network was established in 2017 by the Community Development Office of Fingal County Council to create a collaborative approach to the management and operation of community facilities. Since its inception the network has grown and is now recognised as a critical support mechanism for its members. The steering committee was established in 2020 to oversee the operational side of the network. This was initially in response to taking a collaborative approach across all FCC supported community facilities due to Covid 19.
The primary objectives of the network steering committee are:
- To co-ordinate and facilitate network meetings on behalf of the network
- To stream line funding opportunities on behalf of the network
- To create a spring board for the establishment of working groups and to feed back to the wider network
- To bring forward ideas identified by the wider network and bring them to fruition through project management, planning and development.
The present network steering committee are:
- Chris Sullivan(Chair) – Huntstown Family Resource Centre
- Janet Ivers – Senior Community Officer CFMSU Fingal County Council
- David Mitchell – Community Officer FCC
- Heidi Bedell – Baldoyle Forum
- Catherine Coady – Castleknock Community Centre
- Jenny Gorman – General Manager Apleona FM Ltd
- Eileen Cormack – Area Manager Dublin 15 Facilities
- Sandra Matthews – Donabate Portrane Community Centre
- Pamela Cummins – Mulhuddart Community Centre
- Sandra Dunphy – Mountview Campus
- Derek Tipping – Corduff Resource Centre and Luttrellstown Community Centre
The following sub groups have been established to focus on key challenges for the network
*Remobilisation working group was established to provide a forum to review government guidelines with regards to Covid 19. It provides a forum for centre managers to discuss and review the various guidelines and ensure that a consistent approach to remobilisation of facilities is maintained. *This group has been disbanded as Covid 19 is deemed no longer a public health risk.
Training links sub group was set up to lead the training links funding application. This group now look at the training needs of the network and aims to ensure that all training provided is meeting the needs of all network members.
Web site development working group was set up to oversee the design and development of a web site for the network. It is envisaged that the web site will be a place where all facilities can share their work and members of the public will be able to gain access to information of facilities county wide.
Keen to be green working group was established to take a proactive approach to developing sustainable measures in support of climate action in community centres. The group will oversee the roll out of the keen to be green project across all community centres and will provide a support network that promotes ideas and discussions to support the project.