ASPECT is a research unit within SFI’s Insight Research Center which analyzes multimodal data to produce tools and policy recommendations, aiding policymakers in building new policies or improving existing policy implementation to more- successfully achieve sustainability from local to EU levels.
Why are Analytics for Sustainable Policies needed?
Policies in this rapidly evolving world are often static and unable to keep up with the pace of change. Thus, to help policymakers and stakeholders adapt to these constant changes, ASPECT provide the tools to build resilient evidence-based policy solutions that are flexible and adaptable to take account of current data. This dynamic evidence-based approach is especially valuable in policymaking for the environment, sustainable development, and Just-Transition.
Current focus areas for ASPECT are:
Land Use | Peatlands | Sustainability | Climate Transition | Water Quality and Waste-Water Treatment | Environment & Health | Soil Health | Biodiversity | Energy and Nature-Based Solutions
Our Team
Niall O’Brolchain
ASPECT Unit Leader
Niall has extensive experience in business, policy and data analysis. He specialises in sustainability and evidence based policy analytics, particularly in relation to Peatland Restoration, Renewable Energy and GHG emissions reduction. He also lectures in the Masters in Public Policy in the University of Galway.
Al Margaret Waskow
Biosystems Analyst
Al is a Research Assistant in the ASPECT unit, responsible for the geographic information systems (GIS) data and front-end implementation of the portal. They are also working on the integration of natural language processing (NLP) methods in the policy analysis tools.
Saeed Alsamhi
Title
Bio
Yasar Khan
Title
Muhammad Yasar Khan is a Postdoctoral Researcher in the ASPECT unit, responsible for AI and data analytics. He also manages the overall information management of the portal.
Waqas Shoukat
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Fergus O’Donoghue
Policy Analyst
Fergus has academic and practical experience in sustainable development and governance, public policy, and multi-media journalism.
Mella OBrolchain
Graphic Designer
Mella works on the visual elements and user experience of ASPECT deliverables.
Latest News
Meeting stakeholders in the Venice Lagoon
In the last week of October this year, Niall and Fergus spent five days in the historic city of Venice [...]
European Peatlands and Policies Open Data Mapathon
In spite of the orange weather warning in Galway on Saturday, the European Peatlands and Policies Open Data Mapathon 2024 [...]