Interested in rural affairs? Come along to our next coffee morning and be part of a 'pact' audience

Join us every Thursday morning, either in-person from 10.45am or online from 11am, to hear about new environmental, climate and sustainability research and initiatives from UCD and beyond.

About the presentation

An overview of the Rural Pact Ireland Framework project will be presented by Karen Keaveney, Associate Professor at UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science as well as members of the project team.

Project background

This new project is funded through our Strategic Priority Support Mechanism (SPSM) call. The SPSM encourages interdisciplinary activity with a focus on environmental, climate and sustainability research and related disciplines, across the Earth Institute, UCD and beyond.

The Rural Pact Ireland Framework project will develop a framework for Ireland's engagement with the European Rural Pact. Aligning national rural development with the EU's long-term vision for rural areas, this initiative focuses on critical foundational work to support collaboration across society, policy and academia.

Working closely with the Rural Pact Support Office in Brussels, the project will map existing Irish rural policies, alongside stakeholder engagement aiming to synthesise findings to produce a ‘Rural Pact Ireland Framework’ outlining governance, collaborative mechanisms, and thematic priorities for an Irish Rural Pact. It will culminate in a final report, providing recommendations for implementation and research collaborations. 

The project team also includes Orla Murphy from UCD School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy, Victoria Durrer from UCD School of Art History and Cultural Policy, Orla Leyden and Adwoa Ofori from UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science and Gabriel O’Connell, Ireland's country contact/expert for the Rural Pact.

Where and when

• Thursday 16 October
• In-person from 10.45am, Earth Institute kitchen, 4th floor, UCD Science East
• On (opens in a new window)Zoom from 11am