The Department for Communities is the lead government department for supporting the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector (VCSE).
We are also the lead funder of strategic capacity building in the Sector in Northern Ireland. We fund a range of organisations to provide practical support to staff, volunteers, boards and committees. We call this type of support ‘infrastructure support’ as we consider that collectively it helps to sustain the infrastructure of...More
The Department for Communities is currently developing a new provision, called In-Work Support or IWS, to support disabled people in Northern Ireland to retain and progress in employment. This single provision will replace two current programmes, Access to Work (NI) and Workable NI.
A key component of In-Work Support is the Co-Design approach. We are planning to hold Co-Design Workshops during the next few months, one of which is aimed at employers. The purpose of this...More
The Information and Communications Unit in the Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland (the Office) produces five Official Statistics publications annually, together with quarterly Official Statistics bulletins.
We would like to better understand how the statistics are being used and whether there are any improvements we can implement to better meet user need. We would appreciate if you would complete this short survey to assist us in making these publications...More
The Circular Economy Branch is doing some research to gauge what DfE staff's understanding of the circular economy is. The team would greatly appreciate it if you would take 1 minute to respond to this survey.
This will provide us with a much needed baseline of your understanding that can be compared to at a later stage.
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A Covid Counterfactual: What if Government had not provided support?
Gareth Hetherington MBE, Director of UUEPC; and Dr. Eoin Magennis, Senior Economist at UUEPC
At the session UUEPC Director Gareth Hetherington MBE and Senior Economist Dr Eoin Magennis will present the findings of UUEPC’s recent Covid Counterfactual Research which considers a range of potential impacts that the Covid-19 pandemic
To register your interest in...More
Web Accessibility: Everyone's important!
The session will be lead by Michael Loughridge
To register your interest in attending please complete this short registration form. Following registration we will issue an email containing the WebEx link to the session. In the event that the session is oversubscribed we will update you.
Please note that the closing date for registration is Tuesday 28th March 2023 .
Thank you
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We are consulting on the draft Circular Economy Strategy for Northern Ireland which aims to transition our Linear Economy to a Circular Economy, where business, people and planet flourish. Adopting a circular mindset throughout society and business will be essential to a successful transition. This draft Circular Economy Strategy is a key enabler of the Department for the Economy's 10X economic vision for a decade of innovation, facilitating a sustainable, innovative and inclusive...More
The Universal Credit Take the Time Wellbeing survey is to help us support you. You can help us by taking time out to complete this survey, to help us consider what we can do to maintain and improve your wellbeing.
Your participation is greatly appreciated.
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Did you know that DfE has its own dedicated Fraud and Raising Concerns team?
This session will give an overview of what our team does, how we can help, and when you need to contact us.
To register your interest in attending please complete this short registration form. Following registration we will issue an email containing the WebEx link to the session. In the event that the session is oversubscribed we will update you.
Please note that the closing...More
Purpose of this consultation
The Draft Offshore Renewable Energy Action Plan (OREAP) represents a crucial step for The Department for the Economy (DfE) to deliver on the Energy Strategy for Northern Ireland and the ambition of 1GW of offshore wind from 2030. The purpose of this consultation on the Draft OREAP is to enable stakeholders to contribute and provide input into offshore renewable energy policy development.
The Draft OREAP sets out the direction for...More
We would welcome your views on your experience of the AccessNI webinar you attended this week.
There are only 13 questions and the survey should take no longer than 2 minutes to complete.
Thank you.
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Purpose of this consultation:
Vocational qualifications are the foundations upon which our vocational education and skills system is built. They are delivered in FE colleges, schools (including Irish Medium schools), private training organisations, the community and voluntary sector and businesses to a wide range of different learners and fulfil a range of different purposes. Vocational qualifications are also delivered within a range of departmental programmes such as ApprenticeshipsNI,...More
The Department for Communities (DfC) is consulting with all Arm’s Length Bodies (ALB's) and corporate soles, in respect to its duty under Section 2 of the 'Period Products (Free Provision) Act (Northern Ireland) 2022' which requires that all Departments must specify by regulations ‘Public Service Bodies’ within its functions. All Public Service Bodies must establish and maintain arrangements to ensure that period products are obtainable, free of charge within their premises.
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This document is seeking views on level 4 and 5 provision and Higher Education in Further Education (HE in FE) – these are higher education courses and qualifications undertaken by learners aged 18+. This provision is primarily vocational in nature, is offered in a range of subject areas and is delivered mostly by further education colleges in partnership with universities and awarding bodies. Qualifications at this level can lead directly into employment or on to further study, including...More
Amongst other things, this session will provide an assessment of how aligned our policies and programmes are to the 10X Vision and update you on what’s next for delivery of 10X.
The session will be lead by Giulia ní Dhulchaointigh and Victor Dukelow
To register your interest in attending please complete this short registration form. Following registration we will issue an email containing the WebEx link to the session. In the event that the session is oversubscribed we...More
On 14 th February Evelyn Heaslip from Work Psychology Service delivered a bite sized training session to Work Coaches in Holywood Road entitled “Understanding Addiction: Alcohol and other Drugs”.
We would be grateful if you could complete a short survey about the presentation. Your feedback will help to inform future sessions.
It will take approximately 2 – 3 minutes to complete. All responses are anonymised.
The survey will...More
The session will be lead by Ryan White and Dale Shirlow and will provide an update on 10X Sustainability and introducing t he Climate Change Act (NI) 2022, the Circular Economy Strategy and the Energy Strategy which are the key departmental contributors to 10X Sustainability and fulfilling our 10X Economic Vision.
The session will also introduce the Climate Change team and the Circular Economy team, and provides an overview of the statutory and strategic context of the...More
This is a public consultation by the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland (PPS) to seek your views on our updated policy for prosecuting cases of domestic abuse. The policy document can be accessed here:
PPS Policy for Prosecuting Cases of Domestic Abuse (November 2022)
The purpose of the policy statement is to explain the approach of the PPS in taking prosecutorial decisions in respect of offences arising from domestic abuse. It is...More
Líofa aims to encourage as many people as possible to make a personal
pledge to improve their Irish, and in doing so, to join a community of likeminded people focused on learning and using the language.
Líofa’s Gaeltacht Bursary Scheme provides practical support to Líofa
participants. It offers the opportunity for eligible applicants, irrespective of
tradition and background, to be able to attend an Irish-language summer
college, and experience the Irish language in all...More
The ODT programme's Leadership and Skills Project aims to support DfE’s people to develop the skills they need to thrive in their careers and deliver the 10X Economic Vision.
Our senior leaders have identified skill areas that are of particular strategic importance at present. A number of these are core skills that everyone would generally expect to have, proportionate to their role and grade.
We...More
The deadline for receipt of all completed applications is noon UK time on Thursday 9 February 2023. It is the responsibility of the applicant, to ensure that they have submitted their application to the Department on or before the deadline. Late applications will not be accepted.
A copy of the Candidate Information Booklet is available to download below.
Please contact the Department as soon as possible if you need an application form in an alternative format or if you have any...More
As part of the Department for Communities' commitment to net zero by 2050, the Historic Environment Division Climate Change Working Group is hoping to commission an audit of the carbon footprint associated with State Care properties. This will involve all aspects of their care, for example energy consumption, travel to and from properties and maintenance of sites. Once we can see the whole picture, we can then consider how we might improve our carbon footprint for each site individually or...More
This survey has been created to help capture your views on your:
experience with the IT Services Team
understanding of the DfC Digital Strategy
understanding of the DfC Digital Services Landscape
Your input will help us to enhance our service and support to you and the citizens of Northern Ireland.
This survey will only take a couple of minutes to complete and will be available until COP Friday 17/02/2023. Your contribution would be...More
This survey has been created to help capture your views on your:
experience with the IT Services Team
understanding of the DfC Digital Strategy
Your input will help us to enhance our service and support to you and the citizens of Northern Ireland.
This survey will only take a couple of minutes to complete and will be available until COP Friday 17/02/2023. Your contribution would be appreciated.
The survey is anonymous, however, there is an option to provide your...More
Overview
In November 2022 pilot offices initiated rollout of the Homelessness framework, we are now seeking feedback on the delivery of this framework in your office. The aim of the evaluation is to determine whether the implementation of the “framework for our citizens experiencing homelessness”, has increased engagement in the test and learn Jobs and Benefits Offices (JBOs) with those experiencing homelessness. All responses collected kept...More
The NICS Disability Network is hosting its inaugural event for it's members on Wednesday 22 February from 09:30 - 13:30 at The MAC Belfast.
This event will focus on you and what you want from your Network, with group discussions to help us forge a new path to ensure disabled staff and those from our disabled community are supported, visible and valued across the NI Civil Service.
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The Athlete Award programme investment aims to help ‘Our (NI) athletes be among the best in the World’, by targeting athletes who have the potential to achieve success and excel in Olympics, Paralympics and Commonwealth Games.
For the 2017-23 period our Athlete Awards supported 235 individual athletes and 4 team sports, with 54 athletes transitioning onto Sport Ireland's Carding Scheme or UK Sport’s Athlete Personal Awards (APA).
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