The third Northern Ireland Climate Change Adaptation Programme (NICCAP3): Adaption delivery plan – Case Study BE39: Future Island-Island.

NICCAP3 contains over 280 actions from across NI Executive Departments and wider NI stakeholders including from the public and private sectors, eNGOs and Academia.

Future Island-Island features under People and the Built Environment (BE), within the Annex: Adaption delivery plan – Case Study BE39: Future Island-Island (p120).

Future Island-Island is one of four Green Transition Ecosystems which are large-scale, UKRI-funded, design-led research projects (2023–2028: AH/Y003780/1), each receiving £7.8m to translate design-led research into real-world benefits. Working with the community of Rathlin Island as both lens and teacher, Future Island-Island co-designs place-based approaches to net zero and the green transition by (1) valorising local and nature-based waste streams through circular design, (2) preserving sustainable heritage through digital technologies for a low-impact visitor economy, and (3) exploring the adaptive reuse of historic assets as regenerative community resources. Together these activities generate design demonstrators, skills and evidence. The resulting models are replicable across remote contexts, helping to reduce climate vulnerability, create sustainable economic opportunities and strengthen environmental stewardship. Exchange with partners across Northern Ireland, Ireland, Argyll and Isles and the Nordic corridor informs what community-led adaptation can look like in practice and identifies the conditions that make it possible.