Documents

This research looks at how national well-being frameworks have been incorporated into budgeting a nd policy-making processes in New Zealand, Scotland and Wales. It also looks at the approach taken under Ireland’s Better Outcomes: Brighter Futures – The National Policy Framework for Children and Young People, 2014-2020 (BOBF). BOBF is a sectoral policy framework, but has similar elements to those found in national well-being frameworks. Information was gathered through literature reviews and interviews with those working to design, implement and/or monitor the various well-being frameworks.

As part of the Shared Island research project this report from the NESC Secretariat looks at current and possible future co-operation around mental health on the island of Ireland, North and South. The issue of mental health has become increasingly visible in the public arena over the last two years. The COVID crisis has brought with it a range of different issues that have had the potential to negatively impact on mental health. As many of the concerns and policies around mental health are shared by the two jurisdictions, it is a good time to look at how increased dialogue and co-operation on some aspects of mental health could bring benefits to the wider island population. There are a number of examples of successful and current co-operation in the mental health sector. Some of it is led by the community and voluntary sector, often supported by European funding. In the border counties, there is also evidence of substantial informal interaction between services in the two jurisdictions. This report finds that there is an appetite for more formal settings for co-operation and that there could be substantial value in building on current initiatives as well as looking at new areas of co-operation.

Mistral is an innovative training and support network for 15 doctoral researchers in relation to renewable energy and social acceptance operating in 6 countries: United Kingdom, Portugal, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, and Ireland. It is a three-year project funded from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under a Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant. NESC is a partner in the MISTRAL programme. The network and overall project is led by Council Member, Prof Geraint Ellis, Queens University Belfast. NESC has provided a secondment opportunity for two doctoral researchers with posts in QUB. Senni Määttä was seconded to NESC as a visiting researcher from September to October 2021. The paper produced during the secondment explores stakeholder views on micro-generation as expressed through the Irish Micro-Generation Scheme consultation process. It focuses on prosumers and microgeneration as part of the active participation of individuals in the low-carbon transition. The paper’s findings can help to inform the development of microgeneration policy with the final scheme, but it also provides insights into the value and challenges of public policy consultation.

Forming part of a wider body of work on a Shared Island for the Department of the Taoiseach, this report by the National Economic and Social Council examines the particular challenges and opportunities of climate change and biodiversity loss across the island. It draws on an extensive consultation process with stakeholders, north and south. In this report, the Council has identified that there is a shared understanding of the challenges and opportunities; and of the need to accept that strengthening cooperation takes time and requires public engagement and participation. This report shows that there is an ambition to collaborate across the island to deal with climate and biodiversity in an integrated, positive and imaginative manner. It also points to the deep, shared experience that provides a solid foundation to deliver on this ambition.

The Dialogue Forum with Voluntary Organisations was established by the Minister of Health in 2019 with the aim of building a stronger working relationship between the State and the voluntary healthcare sector for the benefit of patients and service users and to facilitate regular dialogue with the voluntary sector on future policy and strategic developments. In June 2020, the Dialogue Forum commissioned the NESC Secretariat to explore the healthcare system’s response to Covid-19 crisis. Drawing on a series of qualitative interviews with senior policy makers and practitioners this study highlights how the healthcare system responded to the challenge of protecting citizens, in particular the most vulnerable, in a flexible, innovative and collaborative manner. The paper outlines many examples of organisational change and innovation in the way services were delivered and argues that they represent an unprecedented level of collaboration and cooperation between the state and voluntary organisations. The paper highlights that in the midst of a national emergency public and voluntary organisations forged an experimental and dynamic partnership, based on intensive engagement, open information exchange, and collective problem solving and deliberation linked to tangible action.