Here is a list of our most recent published reports. For an in-depth and dynamic selection of all ICLRD publications, please see our<a href="/web/category/publications/"> Publications Activities section</a>.
<a href="http://iclrd.org/talk2/2009/02/27/newry-dundalk-twin-city-region/"><strong>Newry-Dundalk Twin City Region
Supporting the Implementation of Cross-Border Collaborative Frameworks</strong></a>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Published by the International Centre for Local and Regional Development, (ICLRD) the “Newry-Dundalk Twin City Region” Report brings together recent and current research on how to realise the benefits of cross-border collaboration in the Newry-Dundalk Sub Region through integrated planning and development strategies.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">The study team identified four key projects to be pursued within a wider sustainable development context. These include:</p>
<ol style="padding-left: 30px;">
	<li>A Newry-Dundalk Centre of Excellence to create a sustainable energy community linked to the work of Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI) and EU Concerto;</li>
	<li>A proposed Newry-Dundalk Cross-Border International Services Zone linked to international financial and other services is proposed which will create additional skilled employment in the region;</li>
	<li>The promotion of geo-tourism and the management of a shared landscape and natural heritage to promote and safeguard the geological assets and natural resources of the Mournes, Cooley, Slieve Gullion and Carlingford Lough Region; and</li>
	<li>A further project to create and co-ordinate a regeneration strategy for both Newry and Dundalk thus promoting the distinctiveness of the two cities will also be developed.</li>
</ol>
<strong><a href="http://iclrd.org/talk2/2008/11/21/small-connected-towns-study-launch-november-21-2008/">Fostering Mutual Benefits in Cross-Border Areas: The Challenges and Opportunities in Connecting Irish Border Towns and Villages </a></strong>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">The Border region is characterised by many problems: its peripherality, a lack of joined up action and spatial planning, an infrastructure deficit, the decline of traditional economic activities such as farming, woodworks and textiles, high unemployment and low educational attainment. In economic terms, towns have been cut off from their natural trading and retailing hinterlands. The region is also characterised by sectarian tensions remaining from the Troubles.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">A core message emerging from all speakers at the launch was the need for greater investment in communicating the success stories which, in turn, demonstrate the mutual benefits to be gained through cross-border cooperation</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">The key objectives of this study are to:</p>
<ol style="padding-left: 30px;">
	<li>Identify best practice in joined-up planning and regeneration for inter-connected cross-border areas with a particular emphasis on collaborative efforts that have supported local economic development, social cohesion and mutual benefits.</li>
	<li>Identify factors associated with successful collaboration through review of projects with a history of successful interaction and outcomes including institutional frameworks for collaboration.</li>
	<li>Develop strategies for inter-connected cross-border towns to make more effective use of funding to support future growth and development; and</li>
	<li>Determine how these towns can promote joined-up spatial planning to effectively link to the designated local, regional and national policy using funding from sources for cross-border infrastructure and planning.</li>
</ol>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">This action-oriented research programme focuses on five cross-border areas covering towns and villages of varying sizes with different functional roles in the settlement hierarchy.</p>
<strong><a href="http://iclrd.org/talk2/2008/04/17/third-annual-conference-report-now-available/">Third Annual Conference Report</a></strong>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">On January 17, 2008 in Armagh, the ICLRD together with Inter<em>Trade</em>Ireland hosted a conference on <em>Fostering Co-operation for Local and Regional Development through Cross Border Spatial Planning. </em>The conference was opened jointly by Batt O’Keeffe TD, Minister for Housing, Urban Renewal and Developing Areas, and Conor Murphy MP MLA, Minister for Regional Development<em>.</em> The ICLRD is continuing to support the development of an all-island collaborative framework for spatial planning through its action research programmes, technical workshops and forums, addressing three spatial scales: EU and all-island, sub-regional and local.  This third annual conference addressed current opportunities for cross-border collaboration and highlighted ICLRD activities that contribute to an understanding of the complex all-island and cross-border dynamics of change in cities, towns and rural areas.</p>
<strong><a href="http://iclrd.org/talk2/2008/01/17/launch-of-the-atlas-of-the-island-of-ireland/">Launch of the Atlas of the Island of Ireland</a></strong>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">On the occasion of the International Centre for Local and Regional Development’s (ICLRD) Third Annual Conference on January 17, 2008, ICLRD and the All-Island Research Observatory launched The Atlas of the Island of Ireland, a set of detailed full color maps and cartograms of varied socio-economic indicators across the island. Justin Gleeson, Rob Kitchin, Brendan Bartley, John Driscoll, Ronan Foley, Stewart Fotheringham and Chris Lloyd co-authored the atlas.</p>
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