New Common Charter supporter profile: RCN

Rural Community Network plays a pivotal role in advancing social justice, peacebuilding, and rural development across Northern Ireland – and pays particular attention to its border regions which are largely rural in nature.

The organisation works strategically across cross-border spaces to ensure that rural communities have a strong voice in policy, representation, and community action.

RCN’s work draws on the expertise of a diverse team – combining policy, research, community development, heritage and community relations specialists – to deliver initiatives that are both evidence-led and grounded in local realities.

Chief Executive Kate Clifford, along with a very dedicated and diverse voluntary board of 12 Directors, ensures RCN contributes insight into shared challenges such as rural poverty, access to services, migration, environment, health, rural proofing and community safety, all of which require coordinated responses across jurisdictions.

She represents RCN on the All-Island Stakeholder Forum bringing Northern Ireland’s rural perspective to regional and international policy discussions.

Guided by RCN’s 2025-2030 Strategic Plan, the organisation’s integrated approach, enables it to deliver across multiple strategic strands, ensuring empowered rural voices, strengthened community development, and equitable, peaceful rural communities with the help of its committed team: Kevin Traynor, Samantha Gallagher, Rachael Power, Yvonne Corbett, Emma McAleer, Nick Mack and Kelly Donaghy.

A key strand of RCN’s cross-border work is delivered through PEACEPLUS, including partnerships with the North West Migrants Forum. This work strengthens cohesion in border communities by fostering intercultural dialogue, shared learning, and inclusive community development. The programme directly addresses the complexities of identity, belonging, and access to services in areas where the border remains a defining feature of daily life.

RCN also supports the development of local leadership through its Diploma in Community Development Practice, delivered in partnership with the University of Galway. The diploma equips local leaders with the skills, knowledge and confidence to drive lasting community change, ensuring that the strategic initiatives RCN advances are underpinned by strong community capacity and active local participation.

RCN’s research programme strengthens its strategic impact, including current work on Just Transition, Rural-Proofing for Health Toolkit, Civil Contingencies and Ending Violence Against Women and Girls.

For example, in collaboration with ERCA and Irish Rural Link, RCN delivered a workshop on the Rural Health Toolkit, supporting cross-border learning and the practical application of rural health evidence in policy and planning. Central to this work is the use of rural typology methodology, which includes a “border rural” category.

This framework captures the distinctive lived experience of border communities where access to healthcare, policing, education, transport and emergency planning is shaped by two systems operating side by side.

This evidence informs policy makers in designing responsive, place-based interventions with cross-border relevance.

Through this combination of research, advocacy, capacity-building and cross-border partnership, RCN ensures rural communities in Northern Ireland’s border regions are understood, represented, and supported.

The organisation’s strategic, team-driven approach continues to build resilient, connected and thriving rural communities across both sides of the border.

Read more about Rural Community Network on its website.

The New Common Charter for Cooperation aims to empower civic society to drive cooperation, North-South and East-West, by

• increasing opportunities to share information, knowledge of policy and best-practice within and across these islands
• improving policy-making by matching it to realities on the ground
• identifying cross-border opportunities to collaborate to solve shared problems or exploit common resources
• engaging with and supporting human rights, particularly for the most isolated and marginalised in our communities, and
• facilitating the exploration and celebration of a community’s culture and heritage with a view to future cooperation.

The Charter may be able to help your group – find out about the membership benefits here.