Strategic Development

ICBAN’s mission statement governing all of our work is

‘ ICBAN will continue to improve the quality of life and prosperity of the central border region by creating a dynamic model of best practice and partnership in cross-border development’.

This looks like (and is!) a reasonably tall order. We set out how we intended to honour our mission statement in the ICBAN Strategy 2004-2008. The Strategy was devised in consultation with many partners across the region and from all three sectors, and was produced by the ICBAN staff themselves.

In all that we do, ICBAN’s rule of thumb is that we do not wish to duplicate the work of any other agency and that we focus on areas where our involvement can facilitate greater added value to existing activities in the cross-border region. Sometimes that can mean driving a new initiative ourselves, and sometimes that can mean that ICBAN acts as the ‘missing ingredient’ in order to facilitate and support greater cross-border co-operation between agencies or institutions whose work impacts on the ICBAN region. The Strategy aimed to address the cross-border needs of ICBAN’s constituent area through partnership, lobbying and support of others in their own initiatives.

The Strategy was therefore wide-ranging but has as a central tenet a regional, cross-border, value-adding approach.

Background to ICBAN Strategy:

In 1999 ICBAN, with the other two cross-border partnerships (North West Region Cross-Border Group and the East Border Region Committee) devised strategic aims for the border region as a whole- these became known as the ‘Border Corridor Strategy’. These aims intended to make the border region:

- Integrated
- Competitive
- Inclusive
- Sustainable
- Outward looking

ICBAN Strategy 2004-2008 represented a continuation of the 1999 Border Corridor Strategy, and should also be seen in context of the Common Chapter, adopted by Governments in Ireland and Northern Ireland as a basis for cross-border co-operation, and enshrined in the 1998 Agreement. ICBAN continues to lobby for those infrastructural and development priorities formally recognised as important for cross-border cohesion and economic well being.

* January 2010. Work is currently underway on the ICBAN Corporate Plan and will be available for download upon completion from this website

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