Peatlands are lands with a peat layer at the surface, containing a large proportion of organic carbon. Such lands cover ≈1 000 000 km2 in Europe, which is almost 10% of the total surface area. In many countries, peatlands have been artificially drained over centuries, leading to not only enormous emissions of CO2 but also soil subsidence, mobilization of nutrients, higher flood risks, and loss of biodiversity. These problems can largely be solved by stopping drainage and rewetting the land. Wet peatlands do not release CO2, can potentially sequester carbon, help to improve water quality, provide habitat for rare and threatened biodiversity, and can still be used for production of biomass (“paludiculture”). Wisely adjusted land use on peatlands can substantially contribute to low‐emission goals and further benefits for farmers, the economy, society, and the environment.

1 Research into Data-Driven Storytelling using Open Data has led to considerable discussion into many possible futures for storytelling and journalism in a Data-Driven world, in particular, into the Open Data directives framed by various governments across the globe as a means of facilitating governments, transparency enabled citizens and journalists to get more insights into government actions and enable deeper and easier monitoring of governments' work. While progress in the development of Open Data platforms (usually funded by national and local governments) has been significant, it is only now that we are beginning to see the emergence of more practical and more applied use of Open Data platforms. Previous works have highlighted the potential for storytelling using Open Data as a source of information for journalistic stories. Nevertheless, there is a paucity of studies into Open Data platform affordances to support Data-Driven Storytelling. In this paper, we elaborate on existing Open Data platforms in terms of support for storytelling and analyse feedback from stakeholder focus groups, to discover what methods and tools can introduce or facilitate the storytelling capabilities of Open Data platforms.

Research and innovation of the smart city concept is logically evolving and extending into the conceptualisation of smart regions. Within the European Union the political priorities and principles are aligning to encourage the development of smart regions. Current plans for jobs, growth and investment, the digital single market, energy union and democratic change align with the long-standing principle of subsidiarity, the circular economy approach [2] and with smart specialisation strategy [3]. This paper examines the ongoing process of engagement and active participation of stakeholders using the quadruple helix model [5] in the conceptualisation, design and implementation of Smart Regional Policy in the Northern, Western and borders region of the Republic of Ireland in an area including 10 local authorities. This process is known as the Smart Places Region initiative.