Inter-Agency Working
Problems such as illegal dumping, issues with roads, straying dogs or hotspot areas for loitering and anti-social behaviour can be a real pain for area residents!
It can be difficult to identify who to go to for help. The Housing Executive or a housing association might be responsible for some areas, but others might be covered by the Department of Infrastructure. Behaviour issues may require involving the PSNI. The local council will also have some responsibilities for the upkeep of your area.
Your community may need to work with more than one agency to address all the concerns related to an estate. And it can be very useful to bring them all together to ensure action is coordinated.
Supporting Communities helps resident groups take an Inter-Agency approach to identify problems and find solutions for the benefit of all residents in your area.
The Inter-Agency Approach
Estate Inspections are a key step in the Inter-Agency process. Getting all the relevant agencies to come in person and walk around the area gives you a chance to put your case forward for support and change. Your Community Development Officer will help guide you through the steps to conduct an effective estate inspection and take forward any actions.
The basic steps of the process include:
1. Decide if an estate inspection is what you actually need.
Have local residents made complaints about estate issues? Do you need multiple agencies to address the concerns? Your CDO can advise you on whether this will be an effective approach.
2. Identify the agencies you need to involve.
It might be the Housing Executive, local council officers, Department of Infrastructure personnel, PSNI officers, or housing association staff. It is worth spending some time up front building relationships with these agencies to secure their buy-in to the Inter-Agency process. Your Supporting Communities Development Officer can help make introductions and get the ball rolling. If the right people know who you are and what you are trying to do, it is much more likely they will get involved, and things will actually get done!
3. Choose a date and send invitations to the inspection.
It is useful to ask agency representatives to bring along any estate maps that show ownership of particular areas.
4. Inform the local community.
Tell everyone that an estate inspection will be happening and ask for their input about what should be reported.
5. Map your ‘route'.
Compile a list of issues and/or hotspot areas to be inspected and where they are visible. This will help you develop a route for the day and ensure the inspection runs smoothly. Try to avoid individual-led complaints.
6. Be there on the day!
Make sure several group representatives are there to meet the agencies. Your representatives must be familiar with the issues and the planned route to ensure everything gets included in the inspection. Be aware of which agencies can realistically take action and achieve results.
7. Complete & circulate the Estate Inspection Toolkit*.
This is a snapshot of the conditions you witness on a particular day. Photographs are useful to include! Further issues can be reported as and when they occur via phone calls/online reporting. Send a copy to all the agencies involved; even if they didn't come, they can still help.
*The toolkit will be provided by your CDO.
8. Plan a follow-up inter-agency meeting.
Set a date 4-6 weeks after the estate inspection to allow time for the toolkit to circulate and for agencies to address the reported issues. Inter-agency meetings can be held regularly over the course of a year, for example, once every 3-4 months, to monitor progress.
9. Keep the local community informed of any progress and promote your successes!
If all goes well, you will soon have physical evidence of your success. Toot your own horn, you made it happen!
Case Study
Find out how one community in Newtownhamilton used this process to effect real changes in their area in a case study of Dungormely and Lir Grove Estates.
