Fact Sheet 3. Working in partnership
Working with representative and advocacy organisations can help you to:
- deliver information where it is needed;
- identify gaps in the information you provide; and
- have a reliable source of referral to more specialist advice and services.
No organisation will have information on or connections with all potential information users. For this reason, it is important to work in partnership to share information, contacts and expertise.
Linking with advocacy and representative organisations
To improve access to information it is important to link with organisations that have trusted relationships with specific groups of information users. This may include specialist information centres, outreach workers, local groups and groups representing service users. Groups which provide outreach services and specialist support might also help to distribute your information. It is useful to have a link worker who is responsible for linking with other organisations and to name a contact person in your information centre.
| The Immigrant Council of Ireland provides information about the immigration system for people who come to Ireland to visit, work, study or live. This includes written information in English, Arabic, Chinese, French, Portuguese and Russian, and language interpretation in face-to-face contacts or over the telephone. The Citizens Information Board has partnered with the Council to provide regular updates for Citizens Information Centre staff on key changes in immigration policy and a special phone line that CICs can call to get specialist information and support. |
Sharing information and co-ordinating activities
The best way to make partnerships beneficial is to pool expertise. You can share and exchange information with local area partnerships, community centres, local day centres for older people, groups representing people with disabilities, migrant support organisations, shelters and hostels for homeless people, and community-based projects.
| The National Council for the Blind in Ireland (NCBI) provides Braille transcription, audio recording, audio description, disability awareness, website accessibility audits and access audits of buildings to groups and organisations that want to make their information accessible to people who are blind and vision impaired. |
Co-ordinating training, advice and other activities helps to promote learning among organisations and to avoid duplication of work. You can also publicise information about your services in magazines and e-newsletters produced by community and representative organisations. This is particularly helpful when information is complex and specialised.
| Co. Offaly Citizens Information Service has a database of certified community interpreters on its website, put together by the Tullamore Migrant Centre. Co. Offaly CIS acts as a broker by linking community and voluntary organisations and individuals needing an interpreter service. The Migrant Centre, which is funded through the Department of Social & Family Affairs, helps migrant communities to integrate with local social, cultural and sporting organisations. It provides information and help on issues such as immigration legislation, social welfare and employment rights. The centre has also trained ethnic community interpreters to help others in their community to access local and national supports and services and so increase their integration into Irish society. |
| The Citizens Information Board is working with Inclusion Ireland to make its information accessible to people with an intellectual disability. The first step is to produce a leaflet to introduce people to their local Citizens Information Centre. The leaflet describes what information the CIC can provide, that it is free and confidential, and that CIC information officers will take the time to explain the various options. Information providers have received training on how to provide information to people with an intellectual disability. A focus group of people with an intellectual disability will look at the leaflet to see if the information is useful and will help guide the Board in the next steps to take to make its information more accessible. |
