The Connected Hubs team was delighted to receive their finalist award at ESRI Ireland’s Customer Success Awards in Dublin on March 9^th.

ESRI Ireland’s judging panel shortlisted Connected Hubs for the ‘Decision Support & Analytics’ award, for its outstanding work in GIS and commitment to ‘Making a Difference’ to all citizens and communities served. This award nomination recognises organizations who innovatively combine data and metrics on a map or dashboard, to better understand the impact of situational events.

The two other nominees in the category were Northern Ireland Water and Ordnance Survey Ireland, who took the overall award for its national resource of nearly 200 years of authoritative mapping since 1824.

David Murphy, Data & GIS Analyst at Connected Hubs, has been at the helm of our GIS work since June 2021 when he took on the task of mapping the National Hub Network, branded as Connected Hubs. The team utilises ESRI ArcGIS products and services for Mapping & Visualisation, Data Management, Monitoring, Analytics, Design & Planning, Decision Support, Sharing & Collaboration.

David’s work has not only added visibility, insight and structure to the breadth and depth of the hub sector, it is increasingly being used to support data-driven national decisions and collaborations in partnership with other organisations. Some examples include:

• The Central Statistics Office utilised the National Hub Network open dataset to inform its May 2022 published report on Distance to Remote Work Hubs and Childcare Services. This CSO report highlights that, on average, households in the State are situated 5.6km from a remote work hub and 1.6km from a childcare service.

• In September 2022, myRWH, won first prize in the Smart Dublin Open Data Climate Action Challenge. This was a data challenge requiring entrants to harness freely-available data in enabling effective climate action. A team led by researcher Alireza Dehghani of UCD CeADAR Centre, which works on applied AI, worked with the Connected Hubs open dataset to build their solution. The myRWH interactive map uses artificial intelligence to help end users find the most appropriate hubs based on their desired parameters, thereby availing of a working environment closer to home, and potentially reducing traffic pressure and vehicle emissions. View the app here https://myrwh.app/demo/

• Grow Remote, a social enterprise that promotes the benefits of remote working to Irish communities, published its community map in 2022, making remote more visible and accessible for everyone. Ongoing collaboration is happening between David Murphy of Connected Hubs and Graham Harron of Grow Remote, on mapping remote workers and remote working hubs. 

• Connected Hubs is currently conducting research in relation to 'Decarbonising Hubs' assisted by the power of GIS

Stephen Carolan, National Hub Network Programme Manager, says ‘We’re really proud of the work undertaken by David and the team, with the support of the Department of Rural and Community Development. The important decisions needed to develop the National Hub Network can only be made with good data. David’s work, with input from hub managers and key stakeholders from all over the country, is now building this vital dataset which didn't exist before, on one platform. This data is then analysed and presented in a format that can be easily understood by key decision makers, and this guides policy and strategy in the development of the hub sector. At Connected Hubs we value collaboration and we’re delighted to work with all key stakeholders, to shine a light on the how the hub network is #MakingaDifference in Irish busineses and communities.

To find out more about our GIS work contact info@connectedhubs.ie

Photo (L-R)
Gerry Finn, Chair, Western Development Commission
Geraldine Crean, Regional Development & Innovation Unit, Department of Rural and Community Development
David Murphy, Data & GIS Analyst, Connected Hubs, Western Development Commission
Gayle O'Brien, Regional Development & Innovation Unit, Department of Rural and Community Development
Stephen Carolan, National Hub Network Programme Manager, Connected Hubs, Western Development Commission
Allan Mulrooney, Interim CEO, Western Development Commission

Links:

National Hub Network (NHN) register - Interactive GIS mapping including ‘Near Me’ widget.

Search Connected Hubs GIS National Hubs Map:

"Knowing where things are, and why, is essential to rational decision making".

(Jack Dangermond, ESRI - Environmental Systems Research Institute)

WORK SMARTER - LIVE BETTER - Western Development Commission

#MakingaDifference