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CIL National Network

- Latest News -

History
Today there are twenty-six CILs nationwide, all established and operated by people with disabilities at a local level, and each committed to ensuring that the principles of Independent Living (IL)  - Choices, Rights, Empowerment and Control - are embodied in all aspects of their work. Some support structures did evolve since establishment of the first CIL in 1992, namely Independent Living Community Services (ILCS) Ltd in 1996 (now dissolved) and the current National Advisory Group (NAG) in 2004.

Through the years, CILs have always recognised that they themselves needed a strong, collective voice in relation to important issues such as policy, IL services, and the maintenance and development of the IL philosophy. In 1998, CILs came together nationally to develop the Independent Living Network (ILN), which operated without any dedicated resources.

National CIL Network Meetings are held three times a year (click here for Network Meeting reports), and on 25 June 2005, at the National CIL Network meeting held in the Landmark Hotel, Carrick on Shannon, Co. Leitrim, two proposals were made to the network.

• Development of a formal CIL Council to represent the CIL National Network
• Introduction of a CIL Model to help structure the Network

 

CIL Council

The purpose of a formal CIL Network Council is to act as a clearinghouse for information between CILs nationwide, reducing traditional linkage between local CILs and instead exploiting the full potential of the network. This is to be supported through the provision of good training, governance, and leader practices in partnership with the National Advisory Group (NAG) process. Following the June '05 National Network meeting, a draft discussion document was circulated, outlining key elements within a National CIL Network Council. These included Council function, Constitution, Functions of Council Members, Council Location and Support and Network Meetings. Click here for a breakdown of each of these aspects of the Council.

CIL Model

The purpose of the CIL Model is to help develop the structure of the Network. Each CIL is asked to find the group within the model that they currently belong to, in order that the development needs of each specific group can be addressed. The CIL Model is broken down into the following five groups:

1. Primary Service Providers

2. Service providers through core funding & CE schemes

3. Service providers with a focus on supporting people with disabilities thorugh mainstreaming

4. Non-service providers, focused on research, training and learning

5. Pre-development group

Please click here to see a diagram and description of the relationships between the CIL National Network, the CIL Network Council, the National Advisory Group (NAG), and the National Leader Forum (NLF).

 

	- LATEST NEWS -
CIL Council	At the October 2005 Network meeting, the draft discussion document was discussed and ammended. The Council will now examine Council Constitution & Guidelines and ratify them at a Network Meeting early 2006. Also at the October '05 Network Meeting, it was decided to elect the initial council members by postal vote. CILs gave profiles of nominees to the Board of Officers in Nov 2005, and election forms were distributed. The 3 elected Officers to the Council are Nicola Meacle, Pat Hallinan, and Sean Rickard. These officers will facilitate and chair future CIL Council network meetings.
CIL Model	At the October 2005 Network meeting, all CILs were asked to identify themselves within the CIL Model, and to network according to the model in 2006. Development meetings were scheduled throughout 2006 for groups definded in the Model. 1st Meeting, held in the Montague Hotel, Portlaoise on November 3-4 2005, was attended by a number of Group 2 CILs (Carlow, Dublin 7, DPOC, Cork, Carmichael House). Participants looked at the benefits and process of Strategic Planning, as well as examining the soft services that they provided which were generally unpaid for. Sources of funding and conflict management were also examined. Support for these days was from DESSA (Alice Griffin), Comhairle (Una Tobin) & DFI (Anthony Carrick). 2nd Meeting in the Montague Hotel, Portlaoise on 19-20 January 2006 was for well established groups - Primary Service Providers within the CIL Model - and was facilitated by Michael Corbett. Attendees included Mayo CIL, Offaly CIL, Donegal CIL, West Limerick CIL and Tipperary CIL. The meeting gave an opportunity to network and share good working practices. 3rd Development Meeting in the Montague Hotel was held on 4-5 May 2006. 4th Development Meeting in the Montague  took place on 8-9 June 2006.
CIL National Network Meetings	The next CIL National Network Meeting will be held on 17June 2006.

 

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