Welcome to the Innovating Communities Donegal which is being led by Donegal Local Development CLG. We are excited to be joining 6 counties to deliver design thinking training to our community members. In Donegal, we have partnered with Icecream Architecture to deliver this project. We are ambitious with what we can achieve and believe that Donegal could be a leader in delivering ‘Innovative Thinking’ to the heart of Rural Development.  

We want to decrease the level of social and economic disadvantage in the county – which is one of the highest nationally. We want to ensure that when young people leave for college in other places they come back to Donegal. Therefore, we need high-quality, sustainable and well-paid jobs to attract people to the county to ensure that graduates can find suitable employment. This will give them scope to grow and stay in Donegal and ensure we do not lose our small towns and villages. The provision of co-working spaces with our Co-Labora project also gives people the perfect space to collaborate and work together while remaining in their rural environment.  

 

We are proud of the projects we have already delivered where we harnessed the potential of Donegal’s world-class scenery and natural environment for the benefit of rural communities by facilitating diversification and the creation of tourism enterprises. These projects included the development of glamping sites and eco-lodges including yurts and an eco-friendly communal building at Mardal Hill and developing the International Appalachian Trail in South Donegal. To ensure we protect this natural environment we offer ‘Leave no Trace’ training.  

Inclusion is central to the ethos of DLDC and we are conscious of the barriers that people with limited mobility can face living in a hard to reach community. Thus, working with the No Barriers Foundation to break down barriers to exercise and physical activity and by enabling the acquisition of an Exoskeleton Bionic Rehabilitation Suit is a project we are particularly proud of.  

 

We believe that Innovating Communities can give even more people the opportunities to be leading change in their area. We are already starting to build strong themes for the area such as Climate Awareness, Rural Recreation, Rural Tourism, Diversity and Equality, New Communities, but we want to hear more about your ideas for Donegal.   

  

If you, your community group or business are experiencing a challenge and would like to create solutions through Design Thinking then;  

  

The Innovating Communities project will enable Donegal people to lead change in their area so get involved! Keep up to date with us by following Innovating Communities and Donegal Local Development CLG (DLDC).  

To find out more about the project with DLDC, contact Margaret mlarkin@dldc.org