Build a Community Structure

Getting a strong team together is a very important step in the your community sustainability journey.

We have broken down the actions and resources needed into the five areas below. You can dig deeper into each section to build your skills in each area.

You don’t have to know everything yourself – a key skill to have is finding out who in your group is best to look into that particular area on behalf of the group.

Find out about what the resources are below

Podcasts

30 minute interviews with people just like you who have set up community sustainability groups in Ireland. They share ideas about how this can be done by anyone.

Episode 1: How we set up a leading Irish sustainability co-op

In this episode, key members of the Aran Islands Energy Co-op tell us how they gathered a team, set up, and managed their nation-leading sustainability group: it’s almost a ‘how to’ guide for anyone who’d like to do the same.

The story of a sustainable energy co-op in Galway

by Climate Connected and CFOAT

Episode is about 30 minutes

Episode 2: Co-ops In Europe

In this episode, Stephanie explains how in her work for CFOAT she meets co-ops around Europe. Many of these are making huge sustainability successes. She tells us how we can learn from them.

The wider co-op experience Ireland and Europe

by Climate Connected and CFOAT

Episode is about 30 minutes

Environment and Sustainability Projects

Here are tools that help you on develop a community sustainability organisation or group. They tell you what the challenges are in this area of community action, and show you how to overcome them.

Find our Environmental and Sustainability resources here

‘Governance’the rules that the group follows

How should we set up and run our community group?

Building a strong foundation for your group will mean that you will grow and thrive. These resources will tell you about how to best set up a community group choosing the system that works best for you.

Click here to see thegroup governance and rules resources here

‘Stakeholder Management’how you manage how you talk with people who will be affected by the work you are doing

Who do we need to talk to, and how do we communicate in the best way?

Getting a good team together is a very important start. This needs something called called ‘stakeholder management’: this just means finding out who the people, and the other groups that are in your community, are that match your aims and seeing if they can help you. They can be people like you or organisations like your county council

Get the Community Engagement and Stakeholder Management tools here

Developing Your Community Organisation

This shows you how to set up a voluntary or a community group. It covers important things like: finding out what the community needs, and how to make a good team. It gives great advice about how you can decide on a suitable set of rules and practices for the group.

Click here to see our resources on growing your sustainability community group

Managing projects and working with committees

Your community group does not need to re-invent the wheel. There are many successful groups who have gone on this journey before you. They can help you develop are some of the key skills that you will need. The tools given here are excellent information sources as well as examples of how and where to build your skills.

Our Project Management and Soft Skills Development tools can be found here