Social Inclusion Community Activation Programme (SICAP) 2024-2028
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.
What is the Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme?
SICAP is a targeted, holistic programme, for those who are most disadvantaged and less likely to access mainstream services, which provides supports directly to beneficiaries and links them into existing services.
It is a multi-faceted programme that provides supports to respond to individual and community needs, aiming to ensure that beneficiaries receive quality, tailored supports, while also allowing flexibility to adapt actions to local need. It enables bottom-up approaches within the framework of a national programme which provides targets, performance indicators and requirements.
What is the main aim of the SICAP Programme?
The aim of SICAP is to reduce poverty and promote social inclusion and equality in Ireland through supporting communities and individuals using community development approaches, engagement and collaboration.
Who funds SICAP?
The Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP) is co-funded by the Irish Government, through the Department of Rural and Community Development, and the European Union through the European Social Fund Plus under the Employment, Inclusion, Skills and Training (EIST) Programme 2021- 2027.
Programme 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.
Horizontal Principles
All work in SICAP 2024-2028 must be underpinned by four horizontal principles:
1. Promoting a human rights and equality framework, with a particular focus on gender equality and anti-discrimination;
2. Applying quality community development approaches to achieve the participation of disadvantaged and marginalised communities in society, as well as within the SICAP programme itself and the wider local development context, and combatting poverty as an obstacle to social inclusion and economic progression;
3. Developing collaborative approaches with stakeholders to identify and fill gaps in services for SICAP target groups and improve how mainstream 20 policies and programmes are delivered so they impact more positively on the socially excluded; and
4. Promoting Climate Justice, with a focus on facilitating a just and equitable transition to a greener economy and society.
Target Groups
12 pre-defined target groups have been set for SICAP. These have been selected based on the socioeconomic context, the level of need in society, and government priorities.
1. People living in disadvantaged communities
2. People impacted by educational disadvantage
3. People living in jobless households or households where the primary income source is low-paid and/or precarious
4. People who are long-term unemployed
5. People with a criminal history
6. Refugees
7. International Protection Applicants
8. Disabled People/People with Disabilities
9. Heads of One-parent Families
10. Travellers
11. Roma
12. Island residents
SICAP in Duhallow
IRD Duhallow is rolling out the SICAP Programme for the Duhallow Region similar to how we delivered the previous SICAP 2018 – 2022, SICAP 2014-2017, LCDP and LDSIP Programmes over the years. This programme helps to reach out to those most isolated and socially excluded in our region. For individuals and groups who are interested in availing of support via training, grant aid, information seminars, workshops etc please contact IRD Duhallow on 029-60633 or email duhallow@irdduhallow for assistance.
