Background

Geographic Information - information on location - plays a vital role in the everyday lives of rural citizens in Northern Ireland.  From the allocation of grants and funding to the location and delivery of public services like your local post office or primary school and the  management of your electric supply or the emptying of your bins - nearly all rural services and decision making processes depend on the analysis of spatial information.
 
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) provide a solution for bringing together the diverse information sources that pertain to the rural landscape and society into one coherent framework.  This facilitates inter-disciplinary interpretation of information leading to a better understanding of the uniqueness and needs of rural communities.
 
The Rural Development Council has developed an expertise in gathering and analysing data, research and information from a range of sources and in presenting this information in a clear, easy to understand format. 
 
The introduction of a GIS service emphasises our commitment to building a robust rural evidence base and providing a contemporary approach to data analysis, interpretation and presentation.  This new approach will enable us to be more effective in ensuring the value of rural is clear and prioritised.

Click here to view our vision and objectives.

Further information

If you would like additional information on the service we can provide, please click on the 'Downloads' section.  Alternatively, if you would like to discuss in detail how the use of GIS can help your organisation, please contact  RDC info@rdc.org.uk or 028 8676 6980 to arrange a consultation meeting.