Improving outcomes for children in the island of Ireland: the role of philanthropic investment Available to Purchase

Ireland has suddenly become a hub of activity around children's services — at central and local government levels, involving the primary statutory and voluntary agencies, and engaging some of the more disadvantaged communities. In the previous article, Sylda Langford outlined relevant aspects of the broader context in Ireland before describing the origins and work of the Office of the Minister for Children (OMC), of which she is Director‐General.This article considers the role of philanthropic investment in the reforms. It outlines a 10‐year programme of work funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies to encourage strategy development and service design to improve outcomes for children on the island of Ireland. It assesses progress thus far and reflects on lessons learnt that might be useful for those mounting similar programmes in the future. We do not normally write for the journal that we edit but given our close involvement in the aforementioned work it was deemed necessary in this instance. Future articles in the series will examine the reform process at a local level (from the perspective of a leader in one of the community engagement sites) and put the reforms into the context of the evolution of children's services in Ireland over the last 20 years (by a leading figure in the voluntary sector).