---
id: ch2-monaghan-rap-worked
type: spine
title: "Worked example: the County Monaghan RAP, element by element"
readingTime: 2
standalone: true
core: false
teaser: "One Irish border county, one circular-economy theme: how the vision, action plan and roadmap of a real RAP line up with D3.1, and where the roadmap is still thin."
parent: ch2-raps
diagram: null
recallQ: "In the Monaghan RAP, what does the roadmap still need according to D2.3, and which D3.1 step does that correspond to?"
recallA: "Funding beyond EU grants (EIB, private finance, LEADER+) and mainstreaming the Circular Economy Hub outputs into the county development strategy. That corresponds to D3.1's adoption of the roadmap by the institutions that must finance and implement it."
highlights:
  - "Theme: an underdeveloped circular economy and weak SME collaboration"
  - "Vision: a regional circular bioeconomy hub for green entrepreneurship"
  - "Period 2 targets: at least 50 SMEs trained, at least 3 new circular business models, 10% waste reduction"
  - "Gap: limited national co-financing and a risk of over-reliance on EU grants"
status: accepted
concept: regional-action-plan
lang: en
lens: ireland
depth: standard
formalism: none
visuality: balanced
lengthBand: standard
genre: worked-example
state: edited
carriers: prose|table
---

The [County Monaghan pilot](#c/monaghan-pilot) is led by Monaghan Integrated Development, with technical support from MAC. Its RAP shows how a real plan maps onto the D3.1 method. All facts below come from the fact sheet and from D2.3 (submitted), which summarises the RAPs as revised in November 2025.

## Phase I: the theme

The pilot's challenge is the **circular economy**: low awareness, weak collaboration and little finance for circular or green enterprise, with waste-to-resource and community energy as openings (fact sheet, RP1). This meets D3.1's theme test. Waste and energy are on its list of areas that need urban-rural policy coordination, and D2.3 records the rural-urban linkage as **rural areas tied to nearby towns for jobs, services and education**.

The pilot also started gathering needs through a funded third party. **GREEN**, a EUR 5,000 Outreach project, scoped green and circular business opportunities in the county. It is completed, with its outputs approved by the panel (D6.3).

## Phase II: vision, action plan, roadmap

| RAP element (D3.1) | Monaghan RAP (D2.3, Table 8) |
|---|---|
| Vision | Build a **regional circular bioeconomy hub** promoting green entrepreneurship |
| Action plan | Circular-economy business incubator, SME training, local supply-chain mapping |
| Expected outcomes | Stronger local circular-economy clusters, green jobs |
| Roadmap: financing | LEADER, ERDF, Horizon Europe |

The method has a technical layer too. Technical pilot TP1, led by MAC, defines and implements the RAP using **action-foresight, [system dynamics](#c/system-dynamics) modelling and MapWhiteboard GIS** (fact sheet).

## Phase III: follow-up

D3.1 asks for monitoring, and the Period 2 priorities supply measurable targets (D2.3, §4.3):
- establish the Circular Economy Hub and train SMEs in the green transition;
- integrate foresight results into county policy;
- **KPIs: at least 50 SMEs trained, at least 3 new circular business models, a 10% waste reduction**, and alignment with the regional climate plan.

D2.3 reports the plan's status as **"active implementation"**.

## Where the roadmap is still thin

D2.3's review (§4.2, Table 10) lists the weak points: **limited access to national co-financing, a risk of over-reliance on EU grants**, and gaps in linking the circular bioeconomy with youth employment. Its recommendations are to diversify funding (EIB, private finance, LEADER+), create a youth green-entrepreneurship scheme, and **mainstream the hub's outputs into the county development strategy**.

That last recommendation is D3.1's Phase III in practice. A plan is only safe once the institutions that hold the budget have adopted its roadmap.

**Sources:**
- D2.3 Rural-urban data analysis (submitted), §4 Table 8, §4.2 Table 10, §4.3 — [PDF](https://www.poliruralplus.eu/docs/382/D2.3_Rural_Urban_data_analysis_v1.0.pdf)
- D3.1 RAP Methodology, Phase I, Phase III — [PDF](https://www.poliruralplus.eu/docs/161/D3.1__RAP_Methodology_v1.pdf)
- D6.3 Comprehensive Report on Funded Activities and Impact Assessment (submitted) — [PDF](https://www.poliruralplus.eu/docs/437/D6.3_Comprehensive_report.pdf)
- Project fact sheet (Grant Agreement 101136910, facts as published on CORDIS): pilots RP1, TP1