Peace III throughout the land?

The PEACE III Programme is aimed at reinforcing progress towards a peaceful and stable society and promoting reconciliation. In total €332.89 million will be available over the next 7 years to assist Northern Ireland and the Border Region to focus on reconciling communities and contributing towards a shared society.

The Programme will have two key Priorities with each Priority further subdivided into two Themes:

Priority One - Reconciling Communities

• Measure 1.1: Building Positive Relations at the Local Level
• Measure 1.2: Acknowledging the Past

Priority Two - Contributing to a Shared Society

• Measure 2.1: Creating Shared Public Spaces
• Measure 2.2: Key institutional capacities are developed for a shared society

Building Positive Relations at the Local Level (Measure 1.1)

A call for applications will be issued in November 2007, aimed primarily at local councils but thematic networks/partnerships are also eligible to apply. Expressions of Interests were originally invited for this measure earlier this year. Both those who were successful and those who weren’t can apply under the new call. Councils are expected to form partnerships for funding. These partnerships are to be based on the ‘super’ councils that will emerge under the Review of Public Administration (RPA). They will then develop action plans to deliver initiatives and long-term activities in priority communities. It is expected that councils may take some time to develop their partnership arrangements as it is currently unclear where boundaries will fall under RPA.

It will be extremely important for organisations hoping to be funded under this measure to be included in local plans.

You are recommended to contact your local council for information on their development of Peace III 1.1 Action Plans.

Acknowledging the Past (Measure 1.2)
The Community Relations Council and Border Action will jointly administer this measure. The Measure will fund work which enables victims and survivors to deal with the past on their own terms and which enables significant numbers of the population to be able to see and hear about a different culture and history of the conflict.

Information on the application process is not presently known. It is recommended you contact the Community Relations Council for more details.

Creating Shared Public Spaces (Measure 2.1)
Peace III has issued a call this week for applications soon under measure 2.1. The programme will be administered directly by SEUPB. It is envisaged that this programme will have a budget of €80 to €130m and fund a small number of very large capital projects. Projects are expected to cost up to around €10m each.

A call for expressions of interest for this measure was first announced this summer and it is expected that some of those who expressed interest at the time will be well advanced in making application under this measure. However, anyone who failed the expression of interest process can still go forward and make an application. At present, SEUPB does not envisage a closing date for this programme.

Key institutional capacities are developed for a shared society (Measure 2.2)
This measure is only available to public bodies.

For more information on the Peace III programme contact NICVA on 028 9087 7777 or the Special EU Programmes Body on 028 9026 6660 or www.seupb.eu