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.

add new challenge

Slieve Rushen House Community Development Project

The house and lands holds great potential for the local area. Over the years, there has been some thinking about how this could be transformed to create a cross-border and cross-community heritage and habitat border park. However, there’s nothing set in cement yet! The opportunity is for local communities to lay out their ideas and needs in order to build these into the plan and to think about how the wider area can benefit. Slieve Rushen might be just one part of any plan for the wider area that could come from this exercise. The focus will be open for local people to drive it forward and to partner with key organisations on developing ideas into possible solutions.

Cavan

Creation of pocket forests in the border areas area

Creation of pocket forests in the border areas ...

Work with https://www.pocketforests.ie/ to RECONNECT PEOPLE WITH NATURE in border communities. They reconnect people with nature through education workshops to rejuvenate soil and grow native trees, shrubs and woodland flowers to bring a forest ecosystem to your community. WHAT IS A POCKET FORESTS. forests in small spaces. special method of growing small biodiverse forests.

Donegal, Leitrim, Sligo, Cavan, Monaghan, Louth

Health Care Forests

Inspire and support healthcare sites in transforming their green space for health, wellbeing and biodiversity. Ideas include beautiful gardens for rest and recovery; woodland, orchards and meadows that lock up carbon and create habitats for wildlife; and growing space for fruit and veg. https://nhsforest.org/ lots of evidence about the benefits linking nature and well being. Also lots of examples of projects in action to learn from. Can link into social prescription projects.

Monaghan, Louth

Mohill to Ballinamore Cavan - Leitrim Rail Trail and McGahern experience

Mohill to Ballinamore Cavan - Leitrim Rail Trai...

This programme will examine how local community groups in Mohill Gorvagh Fenagh and Ballinamore can progress the development of the Cavan Leitrim Rail trail project between Mohill and Ballinamore and also a take forward the thinking and concept of developing a "McGahern experience" in the space and place where John McGahern was born, lived and died and of which he wrote so much about and its people.

Leitrim

Ensuring sewage treatment for Dunfanaghy appropriate to present and to future needs.

Ensuring sewage treatment for Dunfanaghy approp...

As above.

Donegal

Sharing the beauty and peculiarity of Ardee Bog: Ecological Survey & Community Outreach

Sharing the beauty and peculiarity of Ardee Bog...

The purpose of this challenge is to raise awareness of Ardee Bog as an important landscape for biodiversity, carbon sequestration and recreation. Friends of Ardee Bog (FAB) wish to carry out an ecological survey of a sample area of Ardee Bog, and share the knowledge we acquire with the community through outreach. The ecological assessment would investigate which species are supported by the sample area of the bog and would evaluate its rewetting and rewilding potential. FAB would then share our knowledge of the bog and its biodiversity through setting up a ‘pop-up’ shop in Ardee in which we could exhibit artwork and information, host educational workshops and organise site visits. FAB would formulate a fundraising plan for the project as part of the challenge. This challenge would equip FAB with valuable knowledge and experience which would help us to carry out similar and potentially larger projects in the future.

Louth

Securing a safe Footpath/cycle track between Dunfanaghy and Portnablagh - or better still - to Ards

Securing a safe Footpath/cycle track between Du...

As above - plans exist

Donegal

Back to the Future

Given the supply chain issues that emerged during Covid, let’s create a model of rural sustainability by promoting self sustaining communities of yore using solar and wind power. The individual small individually owned farms could be consulted, supported and encouraged to create products to add value to keep rural dwellers able to be rural dwellers.

Donegal

Recruiting new members & volunteers

We will be undertaking a major redevelopment of Letterkenny Community Centre over the next number of years and require new volunteers and board and committee members to help.

Donegal

Simple Bi-lingualism symbolism (Irish language/heritage,) as core rural/economy/tourism accelerator

Simple Bi-lingualism symbolism (Irish language/...

The history, heritage, culture of Irish family and place names could be leveraged by many Innovating Community project challenges. Symbolism is powerful, transforming ordinary story lines into remarkable narratives. Border counties have both Anglo and Gaelic stories to tell, two facets. Innovation is the goal. The cultural popularity of Breaking Bad (two personas in one) and Game of Thrones (borrows heavily from the Irish "Book of Invasions") is proof re-visualizing our landscape/projects with bi-lingual/cultural bias has merit. Bi-bilingualism as symbolic principle in signage is a start. Over time we can develop great products and enhanced story lines by tapping our rich Anglo and Gaelic Irish heritage. Innovation happens everywhere, from simple ideas. Note: I am working alone on some Digital Heritage Development ideas, so would love to work with others to explore ideas to embrace Gaelic Irish heritage, not ignore it.

Donegal, Leitrim, Sligo, Cavan, Monaghan, Louth

A Community Based Landscape Vision for the Protection and Renewal of the Pettigoe Plateau.

A Community Based Landscape Vision for the Prot...

This large upland area in south Donegal contains some of the best natural, cultural and heritage landscapes in the country. The course would aim to bring people together to learn about this unique landscape, what the threats and opportunities are, and to then establish a vision for this unique area, much of it still in a semi-wilderness state in the year 2021. The challenge would be to involve local landowners including farmers and forestry companies; local comunities and people living on or bordering the plateau such as the villages of Pettigo, Laghey and Ballintra, and all local groups/national agencies who collectively have an interest in taking environmental/economic issues effecting the area seriously - while exploring the opportunities such a plan could create in enhancing and restoring these uplands over the coming decades.

Donegal

A community space for activities

Challenge raised at the Idea Generation Workshop for Ballybay- A community space for activities

Monaghan

Greenway from Ballybay to Castleblayney

Challenge raised at Idea Generation Workshop for Ballybay - Greenway from Ballybay to Castleblayney - perhaps a Recreational Corridor?

Monaghan

Repurposing old buildings in the town

Challenge raised at Idea Generation Workshop for Ballybay - Repurposing old buildings in the town

Monaghan

Lack of youth activities in Ballybay

Challenge raised at the Idea Generation Workshop for Ballybay- Lack of youth activities in Ballybay

Monaghan

Communication and Marketing of Ballybay, or lack of it, for residents / potential residents / visito

Communication and Marketing of Ballybay, or lac...

Challenge raised at the Idea Generation Workshop for Ballybay- Communication and Marketing of Ballybay, or lack of it, for residents / potential residents / visitors and more How can we tackle this?

Monaghan

Tropical mini zoo – butterflies, reptile, snakes, spiders, meercats

Tropical mini zoo – butterflies, reptile, snake...

Idea from Monaghan Farmer's Market - Tropical mini zoo – butterflies, reptile, snakes, spiders, meercats

Monaghan

Public Water play Area using recycled rainwater

Idea from Monaghan Farmer's Market - Public Water play Area using recycled rainwater

Monaghan