On my first visit to try and begin to turnaround Ballinasloe in County Galway, it wasn’t the potential of the town centre but the talents of the people already involved that impressed me most. In the triumvirate of Seamus Duffy, Development Company Chair and local bank manager, Lyn Donnelly, capable company manager and Colm Croffy, international festival advisor and town magazine editor, I saw the contacts, the competences and commitment that could lead us on a long-term and successful journey.
Since that time we have worked together to understand local issues through a benchmarking survey with an amazing strike rate and formulated a five-year action plan as a result of the knowledge gained and local skills assembled. Most importantly we have added to the talent pool by creating a wider town team with different experiences, enthusiasm and enterprise. It’s often claimed that each of the team members can easily draw on ten other volunteers and from my frequent forays I’ve seen this to be true. The town team have used social media creatively, reached out through the community’s monthly magazine and got businesses together for a barbecue.
Ballinasloe is not without serious issues. The footfall levels drop considerably across the town and the business vacancy rate (15%) is high. Asked whether Ballinasloe has a bright future, only 25% of businesses and 32% of users agreed.
The Ballinasloe Area Community Development Company has stepped forward to show local leadership in special circumstances following the abolition of the Town Council and demise of the Chamber of Commerce. It also has a track record of running a thriving enterprise centre and business-backed monthly magazine. In other towns it will be different types of institutions that take the lead and the structural set-up may be different. What is transferable to other places though is the balance struck between the ‘hands-on’ way that the Development Company provides coordination and financial accountability and the ‘hands-off’ way the town team is encouraged to have a life of its own and pull together necessary project partners.
At People and Places we understand the importance of process to understand a town and develop a realistic and collective plan of action. We also understand though the essential and invisible role of nurturing a talented and tenacious team to see things through. As an aide-memoire for this process, we use our “F-Factors for success”: foundations; form; function; finances, forward planning. Never forgetting, of course, the central ‘folk factor’ that requires convincing leadership at its core; a ‘can do’ approach from its team members; a commitment to work collectively with established groups and businesses and the ability to communicate clearly to potential funders, partners and the wider community.
One of the hardest parts of our work is meeting a committed town partnership chair or core group who ask what might be the cause of lethargy and ineffectiveness, and our first thought is that we might be looking at! Sometimes groups can be just too ‘hands-on’ for their own good. Even in these cases we can use the F-Factors to work together, take a fresh look and gain satisfaction and gratitude in reinvigorating things. Even in a town like Ballinasloe where activity has started well, it is important to maintain the town team’s enthusiasm during inevitable set-backs, inertia or bouts of public criticism. Sometimes criticism can be a sure sign of impact and success. As people give up their time and energy voluntarily, it’s important not to forget the secret success factor –to make it fun!
To read a synopsis of our approach at People and Places to Creating Talented Teams read the synopsis on our Specialities page.
To see a copy of the Ballinasloe Town Benchmarking Action Plan, “Together We’re Better” visit the Free Tasters section of our Ideas Library.
And to get a feeling for the community and characters of Ballinasloe, watch the clip from Irish TV or read the ‘postcard from Ballinasloe’ under News and Views.
– Chris Wade, Director, The People and Places Partnership
