The Donegal project team with Mr. Ian Talbot, Chief Executive, Chambers Ireland (left) and the Minister Alan Kelly T.D
SPACEial North West picked up a prestigious Chambers Ireland Excellence in Local Government Award last night (Thursday) at the Chambers Ireland Annual Excellence in Local Government Awards ceremony in Dublin.
This, the 12th annual awards ceremony, recognises and celebrates the best of Local Government.
SPACEial NorthWest is a crossborder project with Donegal County Council being the lead implementing council, working closely with the Derry City and Strabane District Council, Limavady Borough Council and Magherafelt District Council in responding to the need for crossborder data to inform and shape policies and decisions within the entire region.
Chambers Irelands Excellence in Local Government Awards showcase best practice in local government, highlighting some of the great projects that local authorities are undertaking. The Awards are judged by a panel of expert judges working in the field of Local Government and have been taking place since 2004.
The SPACEial North West project has won first place in the Joint Local Authority Initiatives category.
The project is a response to the need for cross border spatial data to inform and shape policies and decision making within the region. It has worked with key stakeholders providing them with the combination of spatial datasets which are most relevant to their needs and provides them with the technical skills to enable them to use this data to develop policies, plans and strategies for the enhancement of the entire region.
The project produced a dedicated website, www.spaceialnw.eu which is essentially a one stop shop for Maps, Stats and Apps in the North West Region Cross Border.
Congratulating the project team Seamus Neely, Chief Executive of Donegal County Council said the SPACEial project was all about placing data at the heart of decision making.
“It provides both public sector and non public sector agencies with 159 cross-border spatial datasets to help inform their plans and policies and equips them with the necessary skills to use different GIS technologies to make best use of the data available.”
He added: “This project has provided a much needed platform in the North West Region in using geographical information to develop plans and policies and has the potential to impact on the lives of 317,518 people who live in this cross-border region”.
Ian Talbot, Chief Executive, Chambers Ireland said: “In spite of the many challenges they have faced in recent years, Local Authorities continue to deliver innovative and necessary projects that benefit and support local communities. It is an honour to host these awards and recognise the hard work that takes place at the core of local government across the country. I want to congratulate Carlow County Council, the sixteen winners, the many shortlisted organisations but also just as importantly, the people who made all these projects and activities happen.”
In presenting the awards, Alan Kelly, T.D., Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government commented: “These awards are an opportunity for each local authority to showcase to the public the hard work being undertaken in the community year on year and the real benefits being delivered. I congratulate all who delivered the nominated projects for work excellently well done and encourage the local government sector to come forward next year with even more examples of the good that is being done at local level.”
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