North Kerry,
West Limerick
Smart Villages, Stronger Communities
North Kerry, West Limerick: Smart Villages, Stronger Communities
The North Kerry, West Limerick: Smart Villages, Stronger Communities project addresses the unique challenges facing Ireland’s rural regions. With support under the Rural Development (LEADER) Programme 2014-2020, this project aims to unlock innovative new solutions for the sustainable growth and development of rural communities within the North Kerry – West Limerick region. Digital technologies represent an opportunity to support sustainable social, economic and enterprise growth. A key element of this project is how such technologies can be applied in the rural context, creating ‘Smart Villages’ that are resilient and proactive in their future growth. A combination of detailed data analysis, extensive public consultation and capacity-training workshops will be used to produce an integrated development plan for the North Kerry – West Limerick region. This plan will be directly informed and delivered by local communities, ensuring that they are empowered to shape their own sustainable futures.
This project is jointly led by NEWKD and WLR in association with KPMG Future Analytics and University College Dublin (UCD).
Our approach is based around four key themes
Community
At the heart of the project and its mission is empowering the communities of the North Kerry-West Limerick region in steering the course of their own sustainable, resilient and smart future. The aim is to ensure that these communities are attractive places to live and work in, with sustainable population growth, equitable access to services and a good quality of life for all. The project will ensure that the communities in the region have the capacity to drive this progress, providing the analysis necessary to understand their strengths and challenges and develop solutions.
Demographics
The most certain trends during the next 20 years will be major demographic shifts such as global population growth slowing and the world rapidly ageing. These trends are coupled with increasing urbanisation and pressure on urban zones, along with declining populations in rural villages such as those located in North Kerry-West Limerick.
Digitisation And Technology
Digitisation and the adaptation of new technology presents an exciting opportunity for rural communities. The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted opportunities in Ireland around remote working, hybrid education and access to digital services. Across the world there are examples of rural communities using new technologies to thrive, addressing areas such as renewable energy, health and communication. This project will explore how new technologies can be used in a tailored manner to help address both weaknesses and opportunities in the North Kerry-West Limerick region for enterprise, employment and enhanced access to services.
Smart Technologies
Smart technologies can be used as tools to enhance performance and efficiencies across many services and sectors, including health, transport and energy usage. However, it is imperative that such technologies are employed in a sensible and tailored manner. The employment of smart technologies as part of this project will ultimately led by the participating communities, to ensure they have the capacity to employ new solutions to address local needs.
Sustainability
A smart village approach is based on social, economic and environmental sustainably and the use of natural resources in a manner that protects and enhances the rural environment for the health and enjoyment of future generations. The publication of the Climate Action Plan 2021 and the proposed introduction of national five-year carbon budgets represents Ireland’s next step towards decarbonisation and will have implications across all sectors of society. The move to a healthier, resilient, low-carbon future will require lifestyle changes in how we heat our homes, how we travel and the products we consume. This presents unique challenges to rural communities and businesses, particularly around agriculture and transport. However, there is also an exciting opportunity to rethink manner in which we value and utilise rural resources and develop innovative new solutions for sustainable rural living.
Climate Change
The effects of climate change, including greater intensity of stormwater events and enhanced flood risk, are likely to intensify over the coming decades. These impacts will be particularly felt in rural regions that may not have equitable access to infrastructure and investment. This project aims to unlock new ways for rural communities to employ their natural and social resources to enhance their ability to mitigate and adapt to climate change impacts.
Innovation, Enterprise And Employment
Rural areas can often suffer from a lack of employment opportunities, with a risk of leading to population emigration and deprivation. A key focus of the project is to unlock new opportunities for employment and support enterprise and innovation through collaboration and the development of supporting infrastructure. Community engagement, the sustainable use of natural resources and the utilisation of digital technologies will all play an important role in unlocking new opportunities for the North Kerry-West Limerick region. Our goal is to ensure that the participating communities are successful in developing, attracting and retaining opportunities for employment and investment to ensure that they remain attractive and sustainable places in which people can live and work.
Retail Activity
The digitalisation of economic activity and a shift towards online retail services presents a risk of ‘hollowing out’ traditional retail services, with knock-on implications for commerce and footfall in small towns and villages. However, going online also presents an opportunity for enterprises to expand their reach, offering expanded services and better connecting with customers.
Our approach is based around four key themes
Community
At the heart of the project and its mission is empowering the communities of the North Kerry-West Limerick region in steering the course of their own sustainable, resilient and smart future. The aim is to ensure that these communities are attractive places to live and work in, with sustainable population growth, equitable access to services and a good quality of life for all. The project will ensure that the communities in the region have the capacity to drive this progress, providing the analysis necessary to understand their strengths and challenges and develop solutions.
Demographics
The most certain trends during the next 20 years will be major demographic shifts such as global population growth slowing and the world rapidly ageing. These trends are coupled with increasing urbanisation and pressure on urban zones, along with declining populations in rural villages such as those located in North Kerry-West Limerick.
Digitisation And Technology
Digitisation and the adaptation of new technology presents an exciting opportunity for rural communities. The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted opportunities in Ireland around remote working, hybrid education and access to digital services. Across the world there are examples of rural communities using new technologies to thrive, addressing areas such as renewable energy, health and communication. This project will explore how new technologies can be used in a tailored manner to help address both weaknesses and opportunities in the North Kerry-West Limerick region for enterprise, employment and enhanced access to services.
Smart Technologies
Smart technologies can be used as tools to enhance performance and efficiencies across many services and sectors, including health, transport and energy usage. However, it is imperative that such technologies are employed in a sensible and tailored manner. The employment of smart technologies as part of this project will ultimately led by the participating communities, to ensure they have the capacity to employ new solutions to address local needs.
Sustainability
A smart village approach is based on social, economic and environmental sustainably and the use of natural resources in a manner that protects and enhances the rural environment for the health and enjoyment of future generations. The publication of the Climate Action Plan 2021 and the proposed introduction of national five-year carbon budgets represents Ireland’s next step towards decarbonisation and will have implications across all sectors of society. The move to a healthier, resilient, low-carbon future will require lifestyle changes in how we heat our homes, how we travel and the products we consume. This presents unique challenges to rural communities and businesses, particularly around agriculture and transport. However, there is also an exciting opportunity to rethink manner in which we value and utilise rural resources and develop innovative new solutions for sustainable rural living.
Climate Change
The effects of climate change, including greater intensity of stormwater events and enhanced flood risk, are likely to intensify over the coming decades. These impacts will be particularly felt in rural regions that may not have equitable access to infrastructure and investment. This project aims to unlock new ways for rural communities to employ their natural and social resources to enhance their ability to mitigate and adapt to climate change impacts.
Innovation, Enterprise And Employment
Rural areas can often suffer from a lack of employment opportunities, with a risk of leading to population emigration and deprivation. A key focus of the project is to unlock new opportunities for employment and support enterprise and innovation through collaboration and the development of supporting infrastructure. Community engagement, the sustainable use of natural resources and the utilisation of digital technologies will all play an important role in unlocking new opportunities for the North Kerry-West Limerick region. Our goal is to ensure that the participating communities are successful in developing, attracting and retaining opportunities for employment and investment to ensure that they remain attractive and sustainable places in which people can live and work.
Retail Activity
The digitalisation of economic activity and a shift towards online retail services presents a risk of ‘hollowing out’ traditional retail services, with knock-on implications for commerce and footfall in small towns and villages. However, going online also presents an opportunity for enterprises to expand their reach, offering expanded services and better connecting with customers.
Upcoming Events
Get Involved
The regions greatest asset is the people that make up its communities. It is important that their voice guides the project and its outcomes. Over the coming months a combination of online and in-person events will be used to capture the views of residents and ensure that they are empowered in developing and implementing new solutions for the region.
To learn more and keep track of upcoming events across the region –
