ICLRD has continued to develop its institutional working arrangements, to network its various researchers, to build linkages and networks with the public and private sector across the island of Ireland, and to facilitate the development of new networks such as the North/South Forum for Sustainable Communities. European Spatial Planning Observation Network (ESPON) “ESPON is an INTERREG funded multinational planning and related information research project. It has a European and international focus and seeks to inform a better understanding of spatial and territorial cohesion policies in the EU. The National Institute for Regional and Spatial Analysis (NIRSA) was the national contact point for the Republic of Ireland for the programming period 2000-2006 – and will remain so for the new programming period 2007-2013 which has just been launched”. The All-Island Research Observatory (AIRO) AIRO is a research unit and interactive spatial data portal based at one of ICLRD’s founding partners, the National University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUIM). The Observatory works with different partners to undertake applied mapping research and develop all-island, spatial datasets and specialist tools to aid their analyses. AIRO also acts as integral resource for ICLRD and the Irish Social Science Platform (ISSP), and recently published The Atlas of the…