FAQs

What is community wellbeing?

Personal wellbeing can be defined as when our “basic needs are met, …people have a sense of purpose, … they feel able to achieve important goals, to participate in society and to live the lives that they value and have reason to value” (National Economic and Social Council, 2009).  Personal wellbeing is also often directly linked to physical and mental health.

From this we can see that a community with high wellbeing would be one where all people have a strong sense of belonging and identity, opportunities to work individually and together for the common good, are able to support each other through different life stages, access the services they need, live in a positive environment, and are able to participate in the making the decisions that affect them. Since our actions have impacts that can be felt into the future, community wellbeing involves considering the wellbeing of future generations as well as the present one.

A community can be a geographic one, for example people living in a particular area, or a “community of interest”, for example young people, or people with a disability, or hillwalkers etc. Community wellbeing for PPNs includes considering the interests of many communities of interest as well as the whole community within the geographic area of the PPN (or Municipal District).

So, is there a difference between Community wellbeing and individual wellbeing?

Yes.  Clearly, communities are made up of individuals so there is a strong link between the two.  However, community wellbeing looks at a community as a whole and tries to assess what are the key issues overall.  Consequently, it is a wider, more visionary idea that encompasses broad hopes and aspirations that all the community support.  Community wellbeing involves us looking at the interactions and interdependencies between people, and the environment in which they live and work.

So why is Community Wellbeing important for PPNs?

The working group on citizen engagement which originally proposed the PPN structure recommended that the first thing that a PPN should do was to work with its members to draw up a Vision for Community Wellbeing.  This Vision, which would set out the wellbeing that the PPN member groups wished to achieve within the community, would then guide the development of policy positions for the PPN, and also inform PPN representatives on Boards and Committees and support Linkage or Thematic Groups in their work. Since the wellbeing Vision is broad and aspirational it can guide representatives and policy making that deals with more detailed specifics. For example, the Vision for Community Wellbeing might say that wellbeing in the community will need “…an adequate network of rural transport services to meet the needs of different user groups.”, and this will guide PPN representatives on the Transport and Infrastructure SPC in how they engage on specific proposals for example for bus, “rural link”, community taxi and other service proposals.

How has this framework been created?

Since 2015, Social Justice Ireland and the Environmental Pillar have been working together to help develop a framework for wellbeing for PPNs.  They have surveyed the literature and brought together teams of national experts including the PPN Advisory Group, Secretariat and Worker representatives to input to the process.

From this, six headings were drawn up under which community wellbeing can be considered.

What is involved in developing a PPN Vision for Community Wellbeing?

1. Preparation – development of team, publicising the idea, planning
2. Consultation – public meeting(s), online and direct inputs
3. Drafting – Harvesting the feedback from the consultation and drafting the Vision.

At all stages in the process, the PPN member groups have an opportunity to input and comment.  The final Vision must be passed by the relevant PPN Plenary to be formally adopted.

How long does a Vision for Community Wellbeing last?

No set period has been determined for the duration of a Wellbeing Statement at present. PPNs will use the Vision for Community Wellbeing as a reference document for representatives on Boards and Committees and for Linkage Groups.  It can also be used as a reference against which to measure progress over time. It will be necessary to revisit and revise the Vision for Community Wellbeing at least every few years, particularly as the interests of certain groups may need to be better incorporated, or changes within the community need to be better reflected.

What other impacts will the PPN’s Vision for Community Wellbeing have?

The Vision for Community Wellbeing will give each PPN a unique understanding of what matters within their community and what they are striving to see achieved. In this way, it will inform the work of the PPN.  In particular, PPN representatives and Linkage Groups will use the document as a basis for their work to influence policy.

In addition, the PPN’s Vision for Community Wellbeing will be communicated to the local authority and other agencies that the PPN identify as having a role in the community, to inform them of what the community wants to achieve for wellbeing in their area.  In this way, the PPN will seek policies and plans from these agencies that will support wellbeing in the community.

What is the Kildare Local Economic Community Development Plan?

As part of the Community Wellbeing workshops, we will be incorporating the community consultations for the Kildare Local Economic Community Plan (LECP) 2023 – 2029.

The purpose of the LECP is to set out, for a six-year period, the objectives and actions needed to promote and support the economic development and the local and community development of Kildare. These actions will be agreed and implemented both by Kildare County Council, directly and in partnership with other economic and community development stakeholders, including local communities and members groups of Kildare Public Participation Network.