PPN Secretariat
The Secretariat is the administrative body of the PPN. It carries out the decisions of the Plenary and makes sure the day-to-day work of the PPN gets done. The membership of the Secretariat should be as broad as possible to reflect the range
of Member Groups that make up the PPN.
How the Secretariat is made up should reflect the PPN as a whole. To comply with the Department’s circular (CVSP
1/2014), the PPN Secretariat must contain at a minimum:
- one representative from each of the Municipal Districts in a county (or set geographical areas within the cities),
and - equal numbers (but at least two people) from each of the three electoral colleges (Environmental, Social
Inclusion, Community and Voluntary).
The role and function of the Secretariat is outlined below. Source: PPN Handbook 2020, DRCD
Role of the Secretariat
The Secretariat is an administrative body that takes its direction from the Plenary of the PPN. Its role is to:
• Help put operational decisions of the Plenary in place.
• Make sure that the PPN is working properly in between Plenaries on behalf of the Member Groups.
• Organise or help to organise the PPN activities on behalf of the Member Groups.
• Communicate regularly with all PPN Members and share information about all PPN activities as widely as
possible.
• Keep correct, up to date, records of PPN business, including minutes of meetings and make sure agendas are circulated in good time.
• Be a point of contact for the PPN for the Local Authority, Department of Rural and Community Development, other PPNs, the National Advisory Group and other stakeholders of the PPN.
• Deal with all correspondence on behalf of PPN, by sending out copies and writing responses.
• Facilitate and enable the PPN Workers in their day to day activities to deliver PPN objectives of the PPN.
Functions of the Secretariat
The main functions of the Secretariat are administrative, carrying out duties as directed by the Plenary. These functions
include:
• The development and implementation of the Strategic Plan
• Facilitating and enabling the PPN Workers in their day to day activities to deliver PPN objectives.
• Making sure that the Flat Structure is kept in place
• Promoting the PPN and Membership
• Managing the membership database of the PPN (subject to GDPR regulations)
• Overseeing elections for PPN Representatives
• Being accountable to the Plenary and carrying out their instructions