S2@25 Learnings: A personal reflection

The Centre’s Research Programme Development Manager, Aidan Campbell, writes about the S2@25 project.

Our S2@25 project, capturing and transferring the knowledge of the Strand 2 implementation bodies for improved cooperation and cooperation governance recently completed.

The project received funding of just over €400,000 from PEACEPLUS, a programme managed by the Special EU programmes Body.

The Centre led the project with support from our project partners Atlantic Technological University (ATU) and our associate partners were the North South Implementation Bodies (NSIBs) established in 1999, the Language Body, comprising Foras na Gaeilge and the Ulster Scots Agency, Intertrade Ireland, Loughs Agency, Safefood, the Special EU Programme Body, Tourism Ireland and Waterways Ireland.

As the project has now finished, I wanted to share some of my reflections on the work over the past two years, my first two years at the Centre for Cross Border Cooperation.

What struck me during the project was the huge variety and depth of work undertaken by NSIBs collectively since 1999 across their areas of responsibility.

Their work is documented in our research report here or in the summary report (without case studies on each NSIB) here, nó más fearr leat Gaelige anseo.

The Bodies and their sponsor Departments, Ministers North and South along with the officials from the North South Ministerial Council have continued to deepen relationships between the two administrations on the island.

They have continued to deliver their practical remits and to develop links between Departments and their officials dealing with important cross border and cross cutting issues.

Before coming to work at the Centre I was generally aware of the existence of the cross border bodies and had a vague understanding of their work (some more than others).

I was well aware of SEUPB as I have worked in the community sector for nearly thirty years and had successfully accessed Peace II funding as well as working alongside colleagues who were employed in a Peace III funded project.

For most people living on the island of Ireland much of the focus of the intervening period, in relation to the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement, has either been on the Northern Ireland Assembly, particularly in periods when it wasn’t functioning or on the ups and down of relations between the Irish Government and British Government.

Throughout the past 27 years, the North South Bodies under Strand Two of the Agreement have simply got on with their work and delivered on their cross border remits regardless of the political circumstances of the day.

The project has strengthened the collective working between the Bodies and the time spent working together as project partners has deepened the relationships between staff and fostered their collective understanding of each other’s organisations as well as the individual opportunities and challenges they face.

The Bodies have developed a collective strategy that aims to address some of the challenges and ensure their work remains relevant to meet the needs of communities and other stakeholders across the island of Ireland in the coming years.

There has also been a positive response to our work on developing a pilot training programme for officials who work in NSIBs or in the sponsor Departments responsible for them.

People told us there was a real need to develop this type of support to enable officials get up to speed on the details and nuances of the work of cross border cooperation more quickly.

The guidance and support of our project partners in ATU in developing this accredited course has been invaluable.

One of my main reflections was how much the world, and NSIBs operating environment has changed since 1999.

These organisations were formed just five years after the 1994 ceasefires (although the Loughs Agency had existed as the Foyle Fisheries Commission since 1952) enacted by legislation passed through the respective parliamentary systems in London and Dublin.

A time which was pre smartphone, long before Brexit and when climate change was a much less present threat to our common humanity and planet.

Throughout the intervening period they have proved resilient and adaptable and have risen to the challenge of providing practical cross border service delivery that touches the lives of thousands of people every day.

It has been a real privilege working on this project to document the collective contribution of the NSIBs to embedding and modelling practical North South cooperation across a broad spectrum of issues and contexts.

A huge thank you to our project partners and to the stakeholders who were involved in the project over the past two years.

You can read more about the project and download the research reports published here.

Centre for Cross Border Co-operation event
Armagh City Hotel Armagh
12 December 2024
CREDIT: LiamMcArdle.com