On Monday, 29th January 2024, the Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys, T.D, welcomed an Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) report that seeks to inform the development of a high level monitoring framework for rural development in Ireland.
The report, titled ‘Developing a Framework to Monitor Rural Development Policy in Ireland: Opportunities and Challenges’, draws on international best practice to emphasise the importance of a long term monitoring approach to understanding rural development outcomes.
It puts forward a range of potential Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) which would inform the monitoring of rural development policy outcomes over the long term, and identifies data to support this.
A total of 45 KPIs were identified for measuring the impact of the Government’s five-year rural development policy, ‘Our Rural Future (2021-2025)’.
An additional 69 indicators were identified for measuring rural development impacts under the National Well-being Framework.
Ireland’s Well-being Framework, which was launched in July 2021, seeks to move beyond using just economic measures to gauge our progress as a country, by looking at economic, environmental and social issues together, rather than separately or in isolation. It focuses on quality of life, with a particular emphasis on equality and sustainability.
The ESRI report also notes that many of the potential indicators identified would need further work to be available at a suitably localised geographic level, including with the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
Welcoming the ESRI report, Minister Humphreys said:
“My Department delivers a large range of different schemes worth over €400 million each year, working with rural communities, community groups, social enterprises, local authorities, Men’s Sheds, and Tidy Towns groups across the country. This funding has a hugely positive effect on communities, and I want to ensure we are measuring the wider impacts of this investment and Government wide actions in place through Our Rural Future.
“I welcome the publication of this ESRI report which will help build our data and insights in this space, support our evidence informed policy decisions, and complement work across Government on developing Ireland’s Wellbeing Framework. Ultimately such work will help to ensure we make the best decisions for our rural communities and marginalised groups across Ireland.”
The research was funded by the Department of Rural and Community Development.
The report and an ESRI practical guide on monitoring rural development policy can be found here on gov.ie