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A blog from the Northern Ireland Assembly Research and Information Service

Governance Blog Archive

Here you will find an archive of Governance Blog articles published before 1 May 2022, divided into their relevant categories.

Brexit

A photograph of the Houses of Parliament
A high profile consequence of the continuing failure to establish an Executive and fully functioning Assembly was the legislative passage this week of the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation and…
A photograph of some books showing part of the growing collection of Brexit-related publications in the Assembly Library
Please note: This version of the Brexit and Northern Ireland reading list has now been superseded. For the very latest version, please see here. The Assembly’s Research and Information…
The Flag of Europe (Image: Bob, under Creative Commons)
Please note: This version of the Brexit and Northern Ireland reading list has now been superseded. For the very latest version, please see here. The Assembly’s Research and Information…

Democracy and Government

A photo showing the Chairperson (Kellie Armstrong MLA) and Deputy Chairperson (Megan Fearon MLA) of the Northern Ireland Assembly Women's Caucus (photo courtesy of Politics Plus)
Please note that more up-to-date statistics on gender representation can be found in the RaISe research paper Who Runs Northern Ireland? A Summary of Statistics Relating to Gender and…
A photograph of the Houses of Parliament
A high profile consequence of the continuing failure to establish an Executive and fully functioning Assembly was the legislative passage this week of the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation and…
An image of the Northern Ireland Assembly Library
This week is Libraries Week so we thought we would provide an insight into the Northern Ireland Assembly Library, its work and the collection that it manages. The Assembly…

Justice

Image of girl using mobile phone: Increased access to social media, particularly via personal devices, presents opportunities but also risks (Image: Creative Commons Zero)
Rapid technological changes have caused the norms and methods of children’s sexual behaviour to evolve. Much screen-based media use now involves accessing interactive social networking sites such as Facebook…

Planning

An aerial view of the Peace Bridge in Derry/Londonderry
This article explores the temporary planning measures introduced as a response to COVID-19 across the UK and Republic of Ireland (ROI). Some of these measures have, and will, require…
An image of the Peace Bridge in Derry/Londonderry
This blog article examines the similarities and differences between the planning systems north and south of the border on the island of Ireland. It is based on a more…
Image of a planned urban landscape: Local development planning is now with local councils
The planning system has undergone much change recently, so what are the new structures and how has the balance of responsibility shifted between central and local government?…

Statistics and Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

An image depicting a smartphone with social media apps, beside a laptop computer (image from PXHere)
Sample opinion surveys are a well-established way to measure public opinion on contemporary affairs. However, the exponential growth of social media in the 21st century opens new possibilities in…
A map showing an analysis of West Strand in Portrush
With many international travel restrictions still in place, more people than ever will be opting for ‘staycations’ in Northern Ireland. This article provides the results of a spatial analysis…
Image of a bar graph showing the rise in domestic abuse incidents reported during the COVID-19 lockdown
By Keara McKay & Thomas Procter Our new visualisation based on figures and analysis published in the public domain by Ulster Bank, Danske Bank, NISRA, PSNI and Google Mobility…