Challenge Bank

Do you have a Challenge in your area that you think could be solved through Design Thinking? Take the next step in your Challenger journey by adding it to the bank!

Courses will be based on the Challenges that people like you, across the region, feel need fresh and innovative thinking. To do this, we’re asking everyone to submit the Challenges that they’d like to tackle collaboratively.

Like and comment on other people's Challenges to show support and increase its chance of being included in a Course. You can filter Challenges by county or category.

Roll over a Challenge for more details. Click to go to the Challenge and like it or leave a comment.

Click to go to the Challenge and like it or leave a comment.

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Community project to improve Drumkeeran Village

Small park/green area with seating and planted flower beds for residents and visitors to enjoy. The village has an elderly residential housing and day care facility on the back lane but very little green space near or in the village. A small park in the village would both enhance it and improve the biodiversity in the area. It would also be a communal area where people could meet and enjoy the outdoor space.

Leitrim

Using the Masterplan to Develop the Sliabh Beagh Area

Using the Masterplan to Develop the Sliabh Beag...

Funding is needed to develop the area. The Sliabh Beagh area is a beautiful amenity in North Monaghan that has been underdeveloped and underfunded. The Sliabh Beagh Masterplan has been created with ideas to develop and enhance the area. These ideas need funding to be progressed.

Monaghan

Cycle and Pedestrian lanes for Ballybofey-Stranorlar

Cycle and Pedestrian lanes for Ballybofey-Stran...

Ballybofey-Stranorlar has a population of approx 2000 children in schools and creches. We also have many people involved outdoor activities including walking, running and cycling in the community. The towns need to be developed to make it easier for school children and our community to move around safety without cars. Our town centres are walkable and easily accessible, but the pre-dominance of cars in the main streets, inadequate pavement width and lack of cycle lanes make it unsafe for non-car road users in most areas. Establishing proper cycle and pedestrian lanes would - link the heart of the towns with areas of recreation on the town boundaries - support the development of wellbeing activities for people of all ages and abilities - reduce the number of cars on the road, and congestion, especially at the start and end of the school day.

Donegal

A Recreation Corridor from Donegal's heartland to the Coast

A Recreation Corridor from Donegal's heartland ...

Establish a networked recreation corridor through the area of scenic beauty from Ballybofey-Stranorlar to Donegal Town, in Co. Donegal. Creating a visitor friendly route between these two key towns in Donegal would - provide a resource for tourists and residents, encouraging year round wellbeing and outdoor activities - stimulate small communities and craft businesses along the route - create a pathway for visitors along the wild atlantic way into the heart of Donegal drawing them further north on their journeys The Wild Atlantic Way has been brilliant for bringing visitors to the West Coast of Ireland, but areas without the attractions of beaches are losing out as visitors congregate along signature points. Failte Ireland also recognise that the WAW north of Galway is underperforming and attracting fewer visitors than the southern route. this project would increase economic and tourism sustainability for the North West of Ireland.

Donegal

Stop pollution of Lough Muckno

Ensure Lough Muckno goes from 'most polluted' to 'moderately polluted''

Monaghan

Art & information hiking Trail over the peaks of the iron Mts. Co. Leitrim

Art & information hiking Trail over the peaks o...

Development of a hiking trail from- either 1; the Cuilcagh ’stairway to Heaven’ to Drumshanbo. Or 2; Blacklion to Drumshanbo via the Cavan Burren, the Shannon Pot, up to Glangevlin, over Sliabh na Cille, then join the Leitrim way/Beara-Breifne way to Drumshanbo. Along the route there could be sculptures, murals , and various other art installations that make the journey more memorable, inspiring, and educational as to the area's local history, wildlife, and the Tuatha de Danann. I have mapped out possible routes but would like a team to help develop the initiative. Another asset that can be developed along this route is the dis-used old cottages along the way. These cottages are often in excess of 300years and are a monument to Irish history. Forgotten and left to crumble these cottages can be restored as 'museum' type locations/destination that can be preserved, used as resting/ information points, café, and even accommodation to generate income to the landowners.

Leitrim, Cavan

Tackling Plastic Waste Locally Via a "Precious Plastic" Project

Tackling Plastic Waste Locally Via a "Precious ...

The Precious Plastic project (https://preciousplastic.com/universe/how-does-it-work.html) is a global programme to tackle plastic waste on a local level by setting up local volunteer led workshops and social enterprises to turn plastic waste back into usable products. The programme has developed in the last few years to focus on creating an ecosystem of training and supports that can give people a wide range of new skills and bring economic and environmental advantages to local communities.

Donegal, Leitrim, Sligo

Communities Working Together for Everyone's Benefit

Communities Working Together for Everyone's Ben...

To gather community groups together to garner support for each other community's project in a positive and procative way

Leitrim

Town Vitality, How to increase population & visitors

Town Vitality, How to increase population & vis...

Increase town residents = more evening-trade, activity, life, vibrancy, save retail! Your ideas..? Imagine walking through the Savoy Cinema doors (shut 30+ years) into a #CultureQuarter, a hidden village of ...? Craft making, Arts, Studios, 3Dprinting resident’s waste plastic. Affordable indigenous commercial units like 'Donegal Village'. Older generations; could we see a return of reLearning-old-trades before they're lost forever? Mixed-income, multi-generational community-led housing is a norm in many countries. Until more learn Cohousing is not CoLiving, we'll never catch up with other UK/EU towns/cities. or does Sligo continue w 'flats' where nobody needs know their neighbour, or community. Sligo's Courthouse Block ..still ignored, Dereliction has compounded vacancy. #NormalPeople want to live in warmer communities. Down-sizers deserve better options than retirement or nursing village. We can build better stuff in better places!

Sligo

Harmful Chemical Free Communities

I propose the phasing out of harmful toxic chemicals used by County Councils in grounds keeping (parks, flowers, green areas etc). Harmful chemicals include pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and artifical fertilisers etc. Now is the time to take action. We are in an unprecedented time of environmental and human degradation. The health of both systems is intrinsically linked and if we act now we can change our current path.

Cavan

Clear & prevent litter on our roadsides, parks and waterways.

Clear & prevent litter on our roadsides, parks ...

There is a big problem in Monaghan with litter along the roadsides in both the town and the more rural areas. The canals and along the greenways have become stagnant and filled with rubbish too and these are great features of our town that have been developed in recent years but have since declined a bit. We really need to work on maintaining the work that has already gone into the area! The greenway being extended will be wonderful too but I believe this is already in the plans.

Monaghan

Local Climate Dialogue

Bringing climate action down to local (county or regional) level, empowering community and individual ownership of the problem.

Leitrim

Create New Community Woodlands

The Covid 19 2km and 5km restrictions further highlighted the the need for woodland in and near our towns. People of all ages have a renewed appreciation of the importance of woodlands to our health and well-being. We have a great opportunity to bring more woodland into our towns, making them healthier, more attractive places to live, work and visit, while also helping to improve biodiversity.

Monaghan

Moy River Conservation

awareness-raising and community-based conservation initiatives in Ox Mountain communities for the tributaries of the river Moy

Sligo

Sligo Communities Action Planning

Bringing Sligo Community groups together to identify priorities and actions for the area

Sligo

Spraoi Glas

A safe environment for people of all ages to meet outdoors, to get involved in growing vegetables, self sufficient, healthy and grow personally.

Sligo

Diversification of the rural economy for future sustainability

Diversification of the rural economy for future...

Trying to encourage and promote farm and rural diversification and in particular on farm diversification, thereby using the assets of the farm for non agricultural activities in order for the farm household to be viable in the future. This is becoming increasingly important in terms of small farms, succession farming and environmental impacts.

Leitrim, Cavan

Climate Change

To inform communities on how to act effectively and quickly to protect local habitats, sustain and build on urban green areas and provide community garden spaces and bring programmes into schools to teach how communities can make changes to protect their local environments and lobby government to effect bigger changes.

Louth