Colleges as Anchors in their Space

REGIONAL STRATEGIC

LEADERSHIP: SIX COLLEGE

CASES

Scale alters the mood music of words that are traditionally

associated with leadership. The term 'vision' is an effective

word to capture the foresight required to ensure collaboration

and alignment to achieve an aspiration towards an envisaged

outcome. But the scale of the expected outcome also influences

both the burden of responsibility, and the complexity of the

collaboration required to mould impactful alliances.

Marie-Thérèse McGivern, Principal and CEO of Belfast

Metropolitan College, has a vision intimately interwoven into

the very fabric of Belfast; a city, like others in our survey, with

a proud industrial heritage. The political situation in Belfast is

however more complex than in other major UK cities. At the

time of our interview,10 the power-sharing arrangements within

the Northern Ireland Assembly had not been re-established,

thus leaving Northern Ireland without a devolved government

for the past two years. Despite a successful peace process, the

community remains deeply divided. McGivern has to work

across six political parties, activity that takes up a large amount

of time. Her background is, however, rooted in Belfast politics,

her previous role being with Belfast City Council as director of

development. She is well-used to working with civic leaders.

For example, she chairs the Employability and Skills Group for

the City Deal. This is pivotal, as poverty continues to impact

upon the citizens of Belfast, and particularly the young,11 which

creates potentially destabilising pressures on social cohesion

and civic structures. The city's priorities are skills, training, and

10 Interview, 5 February 2019

11 Hard Times 2014, a report by the ESRC Research Project, Poverty and Social

(accessed April 2019).

Index