In 2020, Wicklow County Council commissioned Barncat to develop a local strategy in line with the National Migrant Integration Strategy. The work began in early 2020, but the methodology had to be rapidly altered once the COVID-19 restrictions were put in place. Hannah developed an online survey, which was made available in five languages, and which gathered almost 700 responses. This was followed by a further round of consultations with migrant community leaders, and a group consultation on Zoom. The resulting Strategy is expected to be approved by Council in early 2021. 

What the client said:

Barncat Consulting developed the Migrant  Integration Strategy for County Wicklow. Hannah worked with us for a year under very difficult circumstances due to the COVID-19 pandemic and all of the associated restrictions. However Hannah managed to consult widely with stakeholders while adhering to the restrictions, gaining meaningful input and also building relationships and establishing networks in the process.  In particular Hannah was proficient with Zoom and used it excellently for consultations and webinars.

The result is a high quality and relevant strategy on migrant integration. Hannah was a pleasure to work with, highly skilled, adaptable, professional and self-directed. I have no hesitation in recommending Barncat Consulting.

Deirdre Whitfield, Community, Culture and Social Development, Wicklow County Council

What I learned:

I tendered for this project with a methodology with lots of face-to-face participative consultations - and then lockdown happened. As a result, there was a steep learning curve for me in terms of learning how to use Zoom and other online solutions for interactive facilitation. This project was the first where I ran a large scale online consultation. Organising the breakout rooms in particular took some preparation, but was well worth it to get everyone participating. 

I also relied more on the online survey than I otherwise would have done. Although I had desiged and analysed online surveys before, managing the translated versions was an additional chalsllenge - particularly where the script was unfamiliar, like Arabic and Chinese! I learned how to do a lot more with Excel and pivot tables, and was able to apply that knowledge to other parts of my work, too. 

Hannah