Northern Ireland Civic Initiative Evaluation Report
This report presents the findings of an evaluation by Think Tank for Action on Social Change (TASC) of the Northern Ireland Civic Initiative (NICI).
The Northern Ireland Citizens' Initiative (NICI) aims to foster meaningful civic engagement across Northern Ireland and its border counties. The initiative began a year-long planning stage in October 2022. From September 2023, it was funded by the International Fund for Ireland’s Communities in Partnership Programme. A small project team, including a project lead and an administrative assistant, delivered the final stage of the programme in December 2024.
This evaluation aims to better understand the process of implementing the NICI, including:
- gauging the overall fidelity of programme delivery against what was originally proposed;
- surveying documented outputs (including KPI targets);
- understanding barriers and facilitators to implementing and delivering the programme;
- exploring perceived impacts of the programme; and
- developing recommendations for future delivery of similar programmes.
This evaluation employed a mixed-methods approach and was conducted between January and February 2025. Documentary analysis was used to review NICI's application to CiPP and the final report, including pre- and post-deliberation surveys. This aimed to map implementation fidelity and documented outputs.
Qualitative data were gathered through interviews and focus groups with forum participants, as well as members of the oversight committee and the process design committee. These encounters explored the programme’s rationale, implementation barriers, perceived impacts, and recommendations for future deliberative initiatives.
