The Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP) 2024-2028 provides funding to tackle poverty and social exclusion at a local level through local engagement and partnerships between disadvantaged individuals, community organisations and public sector agencies.
Administered by Pobal, SICAP 2024-2028 is co-funded by the Irish Government, through Cork County Council’s Local Community Development Committee, the Department of Rural and Community Development, and the European Social Fund Plus under the Employment, Inclusion, Skills, and Training (EIST) Programme 2021-2027.
What is SICAP?
Through the Social Inclusion Community Activation Programme (SICAP), West Cork Development Partnership provides support for disadvantaged communities and individuals from specific target groups using a bottom-up community development approach across the three municipal districts of Bantry, Skibbereen and Bandon Kinsale.
SICAP provides support to tackle poverty and social exclusion at a local level through local engagement and partnerships between disadvantaged individuals, community organisations and public sector agencies. Through this programme, we offer a variety of services to individuals to access training and education, improve employment opportunities or to start a business. Supports are also offered to Local Community Groups, Social Enterprises and supports for youth.
SICAP also provides supports to International Protection Applicants and Refugees and has a range of responses to those seeking protection from the Ukrainian conflict.
The programme is structured over two Goals:
Goal 1: Contribute to Building more Sustainable, Inclusive and Empowered Communities: Empower groups of individuals, local community groups, networks and social enterprises to address collective community needs.
Goal 2: Empower Disadvantaged people to Improve the Quality of Their Lives: Support disadvantaged individuals, children and families to progress their formal education and participate in lifelong learning, to progress into employment/ self-employment, and to improve their soft skills and wellbeing.
The programme is administered by Pobal on behalf of the Department of Rural and Community Development and overseen by the West Cork Local Community Development Committee (LCDC) of Cork County Council.
The best way to find out how you or your group could benefit from the programme locally is to contact a SICAP team member at the numbers below:
Download the SICAP guidelines
Services can be delivered from our office bases in Clonakilty and Bantry or on an outreach basis at a location convenient to the client.
- Self-Employment and Enterprise development
- Career Decision Making and Jobseeking supports
- Education, training and exploration of pathways to enhance skills and qualifications
- Life planning, wellbeing and recovery
- Signposting and referrals to a host of specialist agencies
- Delivery of activities and events in designated disadvantaged areas
- Out of school activities for children
- Supporting voluntary organisations to enhance their capacity and activities.
- Working with residents in housing estates to improve environment and facilities in the area.
- Delivery of in-school supports with a particular focus on coping skills and emotional intelligence.
- Supports for low income farm families
- Projects to support people with disability towards employment and recovery
- Dedicated programme for unemployed 25’s focusing on sports, participation and life planning.
Case Studies 2018
Clonakilty Community Resource Centre Project
Wellness Recovery Action Planning (WRAP) – Goal 2 – Mental health Skills Project
Case Studies 2019
SICAP Case Study 2019 – West Cork 18-5
WCDP 2019 Try A Trade SICAP
Case Studies 2020
West Cork Development Partnership Case Study 2020
Bandon Kinsale 18-6
2020 Case Study Submissions – National Context
Case Studies 2021
SICAP Bandon Kinsale Case Study 2021
Bandon Kinsale 18-6 – Migrant Support
West Cork 18-5 Case Study 2021
West Cork 18-5 Case Study 2021 – Video
Case Studies 2022
Case Study – Bandon Kinsale
SICAP – A Psychosocial response to the Ukrainian crisis
Case Studies 2023
Better Me – Goal 2– Mental fitness programme
WCDP – A Better Me 2023
SICAP Case Study – West Cork 2023 – 18-5
Our team of expert development officers can assist with these activities and many more. Please contact our team for support:
Fergal Conlon: 086 856 6364 fergal@wcdp.ie
Fergal Conlon, Manager of Social Inclusion Programme in West Cork for 24 years, since 2000. Fergal has an interest in community development and social enterprise. Fergal provides support for technical development and administration of voluntary organisations, help with business plans and provides research and analysis of social and development issues.
Kathryn Kingston: 087-9876390 kathryn@wcdp.ie
Kathryn has worked as a Development Officer at WCDP since 2001. Kathryn’s focus is enterprise, new business start-ups, community and integration. Kathryn is a highly adaptable Development Officer. Initially employed in Employment and Training the position evolved into Community and Training and then in the last 2 programmes into community, training and enterprise. Kathryn loves the buzz of new learning and positive change.
Mark Gaffney: 087-1630780 mark@wcdp.ie
Mark predominately works with younger members of the community providing support in career, education and training as well as maintenance in wellbeing, mental and physical health. Mark is an Accredited Facilitator of programs such as Parenting While Separated, Working Things out, Non-Violent resistance, as well as a manual handling instructor. Mark enjoys mentoring and motivating and all sport, particularly boxing 🥊
Damien Quinn: 087-1999612 damien@wcdp.ie
Damien works as part of Social Inclusion and Community Activation programme (SICAP) with a focus on the disadvantaged within the region. Previously Damien worked in the logistics, environmental services and utilities sector with experience in Australia and Europe. He has a keen interest in social justice supporting others to be the best version of themselves, living simply and is actively involved in coaching sport locally.
Donna is a Social Inclusion Development Officer with WCDP for 8 years. Donna is an accredited Psychotherapist with IAHIP also qualified in CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy). One area of focus is strategical work with Community Groups, Donna is an active member of Skibbereen Family and Community Resource Centre board, Child and Family Support Network, AsOne – an interagency response to delivering services in Direct Provision and Friends of Clonakilty Asylum Seekers. Donna enjoys working in wellbeing and resilience with individuals and groups. Donna also delivers a 1-1 parenting course in NVR (Nonviolent resistance). Donna has a strong interest in the ‘New’ Irish and has a lot of involvement in the local Direct Provision Centre.
Jimeve O’Neill: 087-7356340 jimeve@wcdp.ie
Jimeve has worked with WCDP for the past 14 years. Jimeve brings a varied skill set to support individuals. Jimeve is a Pre- accredited Counsellor & Psychotherapist (IACP) holding a BSc (Hons) Degree in Integrative Counselling and Psychotherapy along with a Higher Diploma in Coaching Psychology. Jimeve is a trained Facilitator of the following programmes: WRAP mental health recovery, ParentsPlus, Parenting when separated, Parenting children with special needs, Parenting adolescents and the Working it out Programme.
Amanda Tobin: 087-2101514 amanda@wcdp.ie
Amanda works as part of Social Inclusion and Community Activation programme (SICAP) on Integration of migrant communities across the towns of Kinsale and Bandon. Amanda’s work involves identifying and addressing migrant support needs and working with local communities and agencies to support integration. This includes empowering people to access local services, opportunities for education and training, recreational opportunities and broad community participation.
Previously, Amanda worked in healthcare policy and public/private partnership design to identify unmet need and deliver programmes addressing barriers to patient access to medicines.
Native to Cork, Amanda spent many years living and working in Brussels, Belgium where she volunteered extensively with migrant communities e.g. those displaced by Syrian refugee crisis, before returning to live in West Cork in 2017.
