An Assistant Commissioner heads up the Organisation Development and Strategic Planning Section.
The Organisation Development and Strategic Planning Office has a staff of 4 based at Garda Headquarters.
The Assistant Commissioner in charge of Organisation Development and Strategic Planning reports to the Deputy Commissioner responsible for Strategy & Change Management.
The Organisation Development and Strategic Planning Office is responsible for the following sections:
* Change Management - The main role of the Change Management Unit is the implementation of large structural and cultural projects within An Garda Síochána. The Unit was established in 1996 to support the implementation of the PULSE Project. The section is headed by a Chief Superintendent and the staff work on various change projects in the organisation forming the link between the business needs of the organisation and the project developers.
* The Policy and Planning Unit (PPU) acts as an internal consultancy for senior Garda Management and reports to the Chief Superintendent, Change Management. It was formerly known as the Organisation Development Unit which was established in 1994. Duties include:
- The identification of international best practice in police management and operations
- The development of leading-edge interventions to increase the effectiveness of An Garda Síochána
- The identification and facilitation of solutions to issues raised by senior Garda management
* The Garda Central Vetting Unit is based in Thurles, Co. Tipperary. The functions of the Garda Central Vetting Unit include:
- Conducting non-security checks on behalf of designated Non-Police Agencies. The Non-Police agencies that this deals with are the various Health Boards throughout the country or agencies that are funded or controlled by the Health Boards.
- Conducting checks on prospective employees, who may have substantial access to children or vulnerable adults during the course of their work.
- Liaising directly with the agencies and forwarding the result of the enquiry directly to the Agency and not to the individual.
- Dealing with enquiries under Section 4 of the Data Protection Act, 1988.
* Community Relations - The Community Relations & Community Policing office is responsible for all the community relations initiatives in the organisation including the Youth and Children Strategy, the Older Person Strategy, the Diversity Strategy and the National Model for Community Policing. It is also responsible for the Garda Children and Youth Affairs Office, Joint Policing Committee Monitoring Office, National Crime Prevention Unit, Family and Victim Liaison office and the Garda Racial Intercultural and Diversity Office.
As Information Manager for the organisation, ownership for data protection and the data protection code of practice rests with Assistant Commissioner Organisation Development and Strategic Planning.
The Organisation Development and Strategic Planning Office has a further role as the liaison with the Garda Síochána Inspectorate. The Office manages all requests for information from the Inspectorate and coordinates the responses.
The Organisation Development and Strategic Planning Office can be contacted at:
Organisation Development and Strategic Planning Office
Garda Headquarters
Phoenix Park
Dublin 8.
Tel: +353 1 6661901
Fax: +353 1 6661905
E-mail: Commissioner_ST@garda.ie