News & Views

A Joint Policy Paper by NICVA and The Wheel
October 2025 

Executive Summary

The voluntary and community sector (VCS) is a cornerstone of civic life across the island of Ireland. Employing more than 200,000 people, the sector plays an indispensable role in advancing social inclusion, promoting reconciliation, and supporting shared prosperity. Yet, twenty-five years after the signing of the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement (GFA), there remains no formal civic structure under Strand 2 to facilitate sustained North–South engagement. This absence has left civil society without a consistent mechanism to inform cross-border policy or contribute to joint decision-making on the challenges and opportunities facing the island. 

This paper proposes the creation of a permanent Island-of-Ireland Civil Society Liaison – a structured, government-supported mechanism co-designed by The Wheel and NICVA. The Liaison would provide a forum for civic dialogue, promote evidence-based policymaking, and foster cooperation between communities and institutions North and South. The proposal builds on extensive evidence of demand within the sector and responds to shared policy priorities of both organisations to strengthen civic voice, enhance participation, and support inclusive governance. 

Context and Rationale

When the Good Friday Agreement was signed in 1998, it recognised that peacebuilding and reconciliation required not only political structures but also the active participation of communities. While the Agreement established the North/South Ministerial Council (NSMC) and several implementation bodies, it did not include a civic mechanism under Strand 2 to sustain cooperation between communities and voluntary organisations across the island. As a result, civic engagement in cross-border affairs has been ad hoc, reliant on time-limited projects, and dependent on external funding rather than embedded institutional design. 

The absence of such a structure has created a gap between governmental institutions and the civil society actors who are often closest to the issues that transcend the border. Existing forums such as the Joint Forum in Northern Ireland and the National Civic Forum in the Republic provide valuable national platforms, but they operate within their respective jurisdictions and do not extend to the all-island context envisioned by the spirit of the Agreement. The result is a fragmented system in which organisations working on common challenges – from health and education to community regeneration and climate action – lack a structured means of collaboration or policy influence at the North–South level. 

Evidence of Need and Demand

Recent analysis across both jurisdictions underscores the pressing need for a mechanism to coordinate and amplify the role of the VCS in cross-border cooperation. Divergent legal, tax, and regulatory frameworks create significant barriers to collaboration, particularly for smaller organisations without specialist capacity to navigate two administrative systems. Different procurement rules, qualification frameworks, and charity regulations compound these challenges, creating inefficiencies and preventing the free flow of knowledge and innovation. 

At the same time, both governments increasingly rely on the sector to deliver essential public services and support communities through social and economic transition. The demand for cross-border collaboration has therefore never been higher. The ongoing effects of Brexit, combined with global pressures such as climate change, migration, and digital transformation, have intensified the need for joined-up civic responses. Yet, in the absence of a formal structure for engagement, opportunities to share data, coordinate action, and influence policy remain limited. 

The evidence also shows that civic organisations want to work together across the island. Surveys and consultations conducted through collaborative initiatives have revealed consistent interest from the VCS in structured engagement. However, the research capacity to support this work is uneven. Unlike their counterparts in Great Britain, The Wheel and NICVA operate without resourced research teams, leaving a gap in the sector’s ability to produce the comparative data and policy analysis necessary for informed advocacy. A new civic structure could bridge these gaps by supporting shared evidence, research collaboration, and joint policy engagement.

Examples of Good Practice…

The Way Forward
The creation of an Island-of-Ireland Civil Society Liaison would provide a sustainable, inclusive, and evidence-led platform for North–South civic dialogue. Co-established by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Department for Communities (DfC), and convened by The Wheel and NICVA, the Liaison would act as a focal point for structured engagement between civil society, policymakers, and cross-border institutions. Its core purpose would be to strengthen the civic dimension of the Good Friday Agreement by embedding regular dialogue, joint research, and participatory policymaking into the island’s institutional architecture. 

The Liaison would convene civic forums on shared priorities such as social inclusion, just transition, climate adaptation, and rural development. It would coordinate the collection of data and research in partnership with the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA), the Central Statistics Office (CSO), and the respective charity regulators, ensuring comparable evidence to inform decision-making. It would also explore innovative forms of civic participation – including deliberative panels and participatory budgeting – that give communities a direct voice in shaping cross-border initiatives. 

Policy Alignment
This proposal aligns directly with the strategic policy priorities of both The Wheel and NICVA. For NICVA, the Liaison would advance key objectives by strengthening the voluntary and community sector, promoting sustainable and fair funding, and ensuring that data and evidence are used to inform policy decisions. For The Wheel, the proposal reinforces its commitment to empowering civil society, promoting participatory governance, and advancing the Sustainable Development Goals. Both organisations share a vision of a strong, independent, and collaborative sector that contributes to a more inclusive and democratic island. 

Implementation and Impact
The establishment of the Liaison should take place in three phases. The first phase would involve a co-design process led by DFA and DfC, working with The Wheel, NICVA, and other stakeholders to define the structure, membership, and funding model. The second phase would pilot a series of North–South civic dialogue events to test engagement methods and develop practical tools for collaboration. The final phase would see the Liaison formally integrated into existing North–South governance frameworks, including the Shared Island initiative and the NSMC. 

The anticipated impacts of the Liaison are substantial. It would amplify the civic voice within North–South policymaking, strengthen trust and cooperation between communities, and improve policy coherence across jurisdictions. By coordinating data collection and research, it would enable evidence-based decision-making and highlight the sector’s contribution to social and economic well-being. Most importantly, it would institutionalise civic participation in the governance of the island, ensuring that cross-border collaboration is informed by the lived experience and expertise of communities themselves. 

Conclusion

The creation of an Island-of-Ireland Civil Society Liaison represents a natural evolution in the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. It responds to an identified and growing need within the voluntary and community sector for structured, long-term engagement in cross-border governance. By embedding civic voice, evidence, and participation at the heart of North–South cooperation, this proposal offers a practical means of deepening peace, trust, and shared prosperity. 

Through this joint policy initiative, The Wheel and NICVA reaffirm their shared commitment to a vibrant, inclusive civil society that not only serves communities but helps shape the shared future of the island itself.