The Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly were joint winners of the IPI Planning Awards 2023 under the Research and Innovation category for the Regional Development Monitor.

The Irish Planning Institute (IPI) 2023 Planning Awards took place in Clontarf Castle on 28th September. This year’s Planning Awards recognised innovation and excellence in Irish planning. The Eastern & Midland Regional Assembly (EMRA), on behalf of the three Regional Assemblies in Ireland, was joint winner in the Research and Innovation Category for the Regional Development Monitor.

The Regional Development Monitor (RDM), which was launched in November 2022, is a publicly accessible data website that provides a national mapping and visualisation tool with a range of analytics dashboards, designed to enhance understanding of key societal trends in Ireland to aid better decision making and is the biggest open source data hub in the state.

Initiated by the Regional Assemblies, the RDM is a collaborative project between the three Regional Assemblies in Ireland, the All-Island Research Observatory (AIRO) at Maynooth University and spatial infrastructure partners the Ordnance Survey Ireland (OSI) via the GeoHive platform. Principally designed to Monitor Performance of Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies (RSESs), the RDM assists government departments, regional assemblies, local authorities, planners, policy makers, researchers, elected members and members of the public.
The IPI Planning Awards 2023

The Irish Planning Institute is the largest professional membership body in Ireland representing planners engaging in physical and environmental planning. The IPI awards acknowledge a diverse range of projects and plans nationally taking place at a local, county and regional level in complex and dynamic environments. This year’s Awards recognised innovation and excellence in Irish planning in eight categories.

The eight category winners were:

• Plan Making – Kildare County Council – The Athy Local Area Plan 2021-2027 and the Development of a New Generation of Local Area Plans for Kildare
• Employment & Enterprise – County Kildare Leader Partnership CLG – Barrow Blueway Economic Plan
• Urban Regeneration and Heritage – Donegal County Council – Ballyshannon Historic Towns Initiative Project
• Climate Action Biodiversity – EirGrid – The Celtic Interconnector – Good Practice linking Planning, the Planner & Climate Change
• Sustainable Communities and Placemaking – Meath County Council – Kilcloon Community Development
• Research and Innovation – EMRA on behalf of the Three Regional Assemblies of Ireland – Regional Development Monitor (RDM) – Joint winner – South Dublin County Council – ‘Instantaneous Data’ – A South Dublin Approach to Active Land Management
• Workplace of the Year – South Dublin County Council – #Making it Work @ SDCC_Planning
• President’s Award – Limerick City and County Council – Young Person Participation in Land Use Planning

Details of each shortlisted entry are available in the awards booklet.