The Next Chapter will empower women to address the under-representation of women’s participation in peace and reconciliation, and in public and political life. Participants will enhance their capacity to contribute to peace and reconciliation and to progress gender equality on a regional basis through: Capacity building initiatives; Development of a support network; Working on cross-community and cross-border basis, and, Building their experience of influencing policy development. Through lead partner Politics Plus, and fellow partners NICVA and Irish Rural Link, the ten established Chapters will be supported and have access to decision-making bodies in Northern Ireland (NI) and the Republic of Ireland (RoI), thus supporting cross-community and cross-border collaboration. In terms of strategic policy and context, The Next Chapter will contribute towards the strategic aims and objectives of gender equality policies from the European Union (EU), NI and RoI. The Next Chapter will complement the strategic context set forward in: EU policies including Women’s Charter in 2010, Women on the Board Pledge for Europe in 2011, European Pact for Gender Equality 2011-2020; RoI policies including National Women’s Strategy 2007-2016 and Gender Parity in Decision Making in Ireland in 2013; and, NI policies including the Women in Politics and the Northern Ireland Assembly Review in 2014. By increasing competencies of participants, the project will serve to create a network of women collaborating to improve gender balance in public/political life; create positive cross-community working relationships; and contribute to peace and reconciliation. With regards to need and demand, extensive research illustrates that women’s power to contribute to decision-making at an executive level in the region, has been largely restricted. Institutionalised barriers exist to the participation of women in initiatives which have been developed to deal with the legacy of the NI conflict. This continued imbalance in gender representation within key decision-making positions continues to present equality issues, and can only be addressed through long term strategy, interventions and projects such as this proposal. Four project options were considered: Do nothing, Continuing existing projects, Seeking financial support from political parties to fund this work, Submitting proposal for funding to SEUPB under Peace IV Programme (the preferred option). Through the SEUPB funding, this proposal can be implemented on a larger scale and on a cross-border basis, therefore maximising its impact and thus creating a lasting legacy. The Next Chapter will have accountable and transparent financial policies and controls to ensure financial sustainability. The lead partner will be responsible for: Creating business cases for approval;