Smart Dublin and Enterprise Ireland have launched the Three Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) competitions, with up to €600k in funding. Announced earlier this week, the challenges aim to source smart and low cost innovative solutions to tackle illegal dumping, to monitor and predict blocked gullies in high risk flooding areas and to design wayfinding […]
Month: April 2017
Apps have an amazing ability to put local government services at the fingertips of citizens, yet, so many fail due to poor design or limited functionality. Looking around the world, we’ve found some of the best examples of successful government apps that strike the right balance between innovation and practicality. There’s an app for almost […]
Inland Fisheries Ireland recently signed up to the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland’s (SEAI) Partnership Programme which aims to integrate energy management into public sector organisations. As an environmental agency, Inland Fisheries has a set range of progressive environmental targets to meet, and this new partnership will help provide a roadmap for further
Ireland is showing little sign of meeting its 2020 emissions targets, according to a damning new report from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The worrying report predicts that Ireland will miss its EU greenhouse gas emissions targets, and by a considerable margin too. According to the report, the levels of greenhouse gases emitted by Ireland’s […]
Digital technology and apps can be used by local and city governments to improve citizen engagement and transparency and accordingly, digital government initiatives are popping up everywhere. Is your city or county thinking about developing a mobile app? If so and you’re at a loss on where to begin, we have some tips to be […]
Dublin City Council has teamed up with Sentinel Systems – a specialist in vehicle safety and camera solutions – to install safety camera and recording devices onto its vehicles. The move was prompted by Dublin City Council’s desire to enhance the safe operation of their vehicles and vehicle safety products, deemed necessary for its operation […]
A training exercise testing the response capabilities of Shannon Foynes Port Company, local authorities and other organisations who operate in the vicinity of the Shannon Estuary will take place at Spanish Point, County Clare, on Wednesday and Thursday of next week (26-27 April). The simulated event, which is being hosted by Clare County Council on […]
Littering and illegal dumping continues to be serious problem across Ireland. In attempt to crackdown on fly-tipping across the country, a campaign of ‘smart enforcement’ is to be launched. Covert surveillance including the use of drones is to form part of a new plan, along with the use of satellite imaging and more CCTV at […]
Managers and geologists from over 60 European UNESCO Global Geoparks gathered in County Clare last month to attend an international meeting and to visit the Burren & Cliffs of Moher UNESCO Global Geopark. The Geopark, managed by Clare County Council, was hosting European Geoparks Network members from across the continent including Iceland, Croatia, Spain, Norway, […]
The biggest vulnerability any organisation has to cyber-attacks comes from neglecting to create efficient protocols at staff level. A few simple precautions could have prevented many of the “hacks” we saw in 2016. The year 2016 ended on a very sobering note in terms of the increased risks in digital security. In December Meath County […]
The proliferation of traffic signs on the streets of Ireland’s towns and cities seems to only multiply each year. But are these signs servicing any purpose beyond pleasing regulators? Urban Planner Stephen Coyne, discusses why less is often more. A serious addiction crowds the streets of our towns and cities. You can hardly walk down […]
Enabled by ubiquitous connectivity and highly efficient communications systems, remote working is facing less and less resistance. In fact, for organisations who believe in it, remote working is proving to increase performance. But is it right for everyone? And what are the drawbacks? It is now a common practice, no matter what size the […]
The procurement function is now more strategic, more collaborative, more technology-driven, and these transformational trends are ongoing. With some €90 billion in works, supplies and services to be procured in Ireland over the next five years, it is timely therefore to assess whether procurement policy in Ireland is delivering value for money. By Dr Peter […]
As the ubiquity of technology infiltrates further into our cities’ infrastructure we are becoming more and more at risk of cyberattacks. Professor Rob Kitchin discusses where the biggest fault lines are, and how we might avoid any possible disaster. Smart city solutions utilise complex, networked assemblages of digital technologies and ICT infrastructure to manage various
With the flow of EU funding set to dry up, and the possibility of a hard border, Irish Waterways navigate uncharted territory. There is considerable uncertainty regarding all matters surrounding Brexit; which in itself presents its own set of challenges. The challenges are especially acute in the Border Region – between Northern Ireland and The […]
As cities expand and the pressure to create environmentally friendly transport systems increase there is a mounting urgency for our urban transport to adapt. But is it changing fast enough? Jonathan Wilkins discusses the potential benefits of automated public transport. The imaginative public transport ideas of recent years, have gathered both interest and controversy.
The Creative Ireland Programme is an ambitious five year initiative that brings culture and community to the heart of public policy. The programme is headed by Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Heather Humphreys. Enabling creativity in every community is a core pillar of the Creative Ireland Programme, an ambitious five-year initiative
The ‘open’ or ‘staffless’ library has completed its pilot stage and is now being rolled out in many libraries across the country. Yet, anger still rages amongst librarians who feel they are being viewed as obsolete, as well as the public who fear libraries will become soulless repositories. Do we have a right to be […]
As the shadow of a hard Brexit continues to spread political and economic uncertainty across the UK, a deeper concern is growing in Northern Ireland and the cross-border region where EU funding has been the economic lifeblood for decades. Following the UK’s decision to leave the European Union last June, a powerful air of unease […]