We undertake research with, and on behalf of, a wide variety of stakeholders, including international organisations (in particular the European Union), government agencies (national, regional, and local), consultancies, NGOs, and voluntary and community organisations.
All-Island Research Observatory
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Partnerships
- Ordnance Survey Ireland (OSI)
- AIRO and OSI work in partnership through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) whereby AIRO works towards the development of a series of new national and sectoral specific mapping viewers to be integrated and hosted on the OSI GeoHive national mapping platform. With OSI, AIRO works to liaise with Government Departments and other relevant bodies to improve national access to geospatial data and analytical tools to enable evidence informed planning and policy-making. AIRO and OSI have collaborated on the development of National COVID Hub, the EPA funded Environmental Sensitivity Mapping toolkit, the Dublin Housing Observatory and the Regional Authority Regional Development Monitor.
- UCD School of Geography
- AIRO has a long-standing research partnership with the UCD School of Geography and has collaborated on a range of national and EU projects with Associate Professor Ainhoa Gonzalez Del Campo. Key projects include 'Environmental Sensitivity Mapping' (https://enviromap.ie/), an Environmental Protection Agency funded project that has delivered a decision-support tool for environmental assessment and plan-making in Ireland, and 'Local Area Renewable Energy Planning' (https://gis.seai.ie/LARES/Viewer_V1/) funded by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland that aims to deliver an online spatial analysis tool to support the preparation of renewable energy strategies.
- International Center for Local and Regional Development
- The International Centre for Local and Regional Development (ICLRD) is a North-South-US partnership programme created to explore and expand the contribution that planning and the development of physical, social and economic infrastructures can make to improving the lives of people in both Irish jurisdictions – particularly those in divided and disadvantaged areas – and thus to peace-building and reconciliation on the island. AIRO acts as the primary mapping and data analysis team for all ICLRD projects. The ICLRD provides independent research, planning analysis and a range of international experience to assist policy makers, practitioners, local officials and community groups in promoting good local and regional planning as part of the process of conflict resolution and in achieving greater social and economic cohesion.
Services
Our applied research and consultancy work is in the area of socio-demographics, economy, housing and the environment. We deliver projects for both public and private sector clients on the island of Ireland and are involved in a number of pan-European spatial planning projects.
- Public Good Mapping Tools: At AIRO, we develop simple and easy to use mapping tools that are aimed at improving evidence informed planning in Ireland. Our public good mapping resources are used by government (central and local), educational institutions, private consultancies and the general public.
- Supporting Evidence Informed Spatial Planning: Socio-demographic analysis is the core competency of AIRO team members. With expert knowledge of Irish and EU socio-demographic datasets (census, administrative and in-house AIRO data) we can tell you how your area is performing and provide the most detailed statistical baseline for future planning and policy making. AIRO has an excellent track record working with Irish and EU organisations in this area. AIRO now works with spatial planning teams from both the public and private sector to assist in grounding their planning decisions in a clear and accurate evidence base. This can be County Development Plans, Local Area Plans, Wind Strategies, Retail Strategies, Housing Strategies or the Local Economic and Community Plans.
- GIS and Spatial Analytics: Mapping and Spatial Analysis at AIRO and MUSSI uses formal techniques to address the geographic, and topological aspects of the natural and man-made environments. AIRO researchers are at the forefront of mapping and interpretation of complex spatial properties, patterns and processes of social, economic and environmental phenomena. We are experts in the ESRI suite of tools (Hub, dashboards, web-maps, survey123 etc), QGIS, Tableau and may other analytics platforms.
- Environmental Analysis: Over the last number of years AIRO have been involved in a series of detailed environmental analysis projects. Combining our expertise in spatial analysis and data handling with the expert environmental policy knowledge of Dr Ainhoa Gonzalez we now deliver environmental projects at the national and local level across Ireland.