Cavan Monaghan Youth People and Creative Arts Therapies -

Cavan Arts and Health Project selected for Public Sector Innovation Fund

Twenty diverse projects have successfully secured funding from this year’s call for ideas under the Public Service Innovation Fund , an initiative of the Our Public Service 2020 reform strategy for development and innovation in the Public Service.

The Fund, which was established in 2019, is a competition designed to support innovative ideas from public service bodies to promote collaboration and new and better approaches to service delivery.

This year’s call saw a total of 279 project proposals received from organisations in all sectors of the Public Service - Civil Service, Defence Forces, Education Sector, Health Sector, Local Government, Justice Sector and Non-Commercial State Agencies.

Announcing the results, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Michael McGrath TD, said:

“The Public Service needs to be innovative and agile to effectively respond to the many challenges it faces. We’ve witnessed the enormous innovative capacity of our public service organisations in dealing with the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic over the last year. This innovation needs to be encouraged and sustained beyond the crisis to ensure Ireland and its citizens thrive into the future.

“We need to embrace enhanced ways of working by adopting new and emerging technologies that will help us design and deliver better and more efficient services for the public. Importantly, we must include people at the centre of our service design to ensure better user outcomes.”

Cavan Monaghan Arts and Health Forum is delighted to receive funding to support young people exploring their emotions and develop problem solving skills using creative arts therapies. This project is in conjunction with partners Cavan County Council Arts Office, Cavan Monaghan Mental Health Service (Adult & Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) and Mental Health Ireland. A programme of workshops will be delivered over the summer with young people in literature, embodied movement and visual arts. A similar project will be delivered for the supporters and care workers. Gathering and processing the data and presenting the findings to a range of agencies and decision makers in visual, oral and written form for learning and adaptation. Monaghan Education Centre will support the dissemination of the learning from the programme to teachers and schools.

This project values art therapy and access to creative arts as essential to improved outcomes. Speaking after the announcement Cllr Sarah O'Reilly, Cathaoirleach of Cavan County Council said

"I am delighted about this funding for very valuable work that the Cavan Monaghan Arts and Health Forum are engaged in. I have attended a number of exhibitions that the young people have held in both Cavan and Monaghan and it is a pleasure to witness the value of the arts in the lives of young people."