Outdoor Recreation Northern Ireland

What Outdoor Recreation Northern Ireland does

Outdoor Recreation Northern Ireland, operating under the legal name Outscape, is a not-for-profit outdoor recreation organisation founded in 1999 and headquartered at The Stableyard, Barnett Demesne, Malone Road, Belfast (BT9 5PB). Registered as a charity with The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland (NIC102802), the organisation plans and develops green and blue outdoor spaces, undertakes research, offers sector training, communicates outdoor opportunities, and delivers participation programmes intended to increase physical activity outdoors. Its service portfolio comprises six interconnected lines: Place Shaping, Strategic Projects, Communications, Training, Insights, and Participation Programmes, supported by dedicated initiatives including the People in the Outdoors Monitor for Northern Ireland (POMNI), the Greenspace NI Mapping digital platform, the Sustainable Trails Development Guide, and the Walking for All cross-border participation programme.

The organisation operates on a not-for-profit funding model, drawing revenue from government departments, public-sector grants, and partnerships rather than commercial sales, with a pricing posture that is not publicly disclosed. Its go-to-market is community-led and direct: Outscape engages government departments (notably the Department of Rural and Community Development, Sport Ireland, and Gaeltacht), local authorities, and sector stakeholders across Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to deliver strategy, research, training, and participation work. The primary customer segment is government and public sector bodies involved in outdoor recreation, access management, countryside management, and environmental improvement. Core technology assets are modest and concentrated in the GreenspaceNI Mapping platform, a digital map of publicly accessible green spaces and trails; the broader stack relies on standard web, content, and social channels (LinkedIn, X, Facebook, newsletter, website blog, events) rather than a deep proprietary technology architecture. Headcount sits in the 11-50 band, with executive leadership comprising Executive Director Caro-lynne Ferris and Principal Officer JP Mulherin.

Outscape holds a distinctive sector-coordination role that few competitors occupy. It has served as secretariat to the Outdoor Recreation Network since 2018, supports the National Outdoor Recreation Forum, and co-leads the National Outdoor Recreation Strategy 2023-2027 alongside three government partners. Recent activity includes the ORN Masterclass 2026 on Responsible Recreation, a learning journey with Landscapes Northern Ireland to County Mayo, and continued publication of POMNI and Greenspace NI Mapping, indicating sustained mandate continuity and active outreach across the island of Ireland and the UK mainland.

Name

Outdoor Recreation Northern Ireland

Legal name

Outscape

Website

https://outdoorrecreationni.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Outdoor Recreation Northern Ireland (Outscape) is a Belfast-based not-for-profit charity that plans, develops and promotes outdoor recreation across the island of Ireland, serving government departments, local authorities and public-sector bodies with research, training, communications and participation programmes.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Outdoor Recreation Services

NAICS

Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (712190), Landscape Architectural Services (54132)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Parks, Recreation & Protected Areas Administration (BPAIAMAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Landscape Architecture & Site Design (BPAHAKAC)

Keywords

• Outdoor recreation planning
• Green space development
• Sector training programmes
• Outdoor participation programmes
• Trails development guidance

Headquarters

HQ city

Belfast

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Not-for-profit funding: As a not-for-profit outdoor recreation organization, Outscape operates through funding from government departments, grants, and partnerships rather than commercial revenue generation.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Outscape plans and develops green and blue outdoor spaces, undertakes research, offers sector training, communicates outdoor opportunities, and delivers participation programmes to get more people active outdoors across the island of Ireland. It serves as secretariat to the Outdoor Recreation Network and supports the National Outdoor Recreation Forum, with named initiatives including POMNI, Greenspace NI Mapping, the Sustainable Trails Development Guide, and Walking for All.

Product overview

Outscape is a not-for-profit outdoor recreation organisation working across the island of Ireland. The organisation offers a portfolio of interconnected services: Place Shaping (planning green and blue outdoor spaces), Strategic Projects, Communications, Training, Insights (research), and Participation Programmes. Key initiatives include the Greenspace NI Mapping digital tool, the People in the Outdoors Monitor for Northern Ireland (POMNI) research initiative, the Sustainable Trails Development Guide, and the Walking for All participation programme. The organisation also serves as secretariat to the Outdoor Recreation Network (ORN) and supports the National Outdoor Recreation Forum (NORF).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• POMNI (People in the Outdoors Monitor for Northern Ireland): Insights on how people in Northern Ireland engage with the natural environment.
• Greenspace NI Mapping
• Sustainable Trails Development Guide
• Walking for All

Products and services

• Place Shaping Planning and developing green and blue outdoor spaces for communities across the island of Ireland.
• Strategic Projects Large-scale strategic outdoor recreation projects delivered across the island of Ireland.
• Communications Communicating outdoor opportunities and promoting outdoor recreation activities to the public and stakeholders.
• Training Sector training services for the outdoor recreation industry, including the ORN Masterclass.
• Insights Research and insights on outdoor recreation participation and engagement across Northern Ireland and Ireland.
• Participation Programmes Programmes designed to get more people active outdoors, including the Walking for All initiative across Northern Ireland and the border counties of Ireland.
• People in the Outdoors Monitor for Northern Ireland (POMNI) Insights on how people in Northern Ireland engage with the natural environment.
• Greenspace NI Mapping A digital map showing all publicly accessible green spaces and trails in Northern Ireland.
• Sustainable Trails Development Guide Guidance for planning, building, and maintaining sustainable walking and multi-use trails in Northern Ireland.
• Walking for All A large-scale participation initiative across Northern Ireland and the border counties of Ireland.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Outdoor Recreation Network (ORN)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Outscape serves as the secretariat to the Outdoor Recreation Network since 2018, helping coordinate and advance the network's activities and initiatives across the sector.
• National Outdoor Recreation Forum (NORF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOutscape supports the National Outdoor Recreation Forum, including facilitating the recruitment of Independent Voluntary Chairperson.
• Department of Rural and Community DevelopmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment department leading the National Outdoor Recreation Strategy 2023-2027 in partnership with Gaeltacht and Sport Ireland.
• Sport IrelandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment body co-leading the National Outdoor Recreation Strategy 2023-2027.
• GaeltachtcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment department co-leading the National Outdoor Recreation Strategy 2023-2027.
• Landscapes Northern IrelandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOutscape participates in learning journeys organized by Landscapes Northern Ireland, sharing best practices in landscape management, community-led initiatives, and nature recovery.
• Office for Environmental ProtectionminorOthersRegulatory body that provides independent assessment of Northern Ireland's Environmental Improvement Plan, which aligns with Outscape's advocacy for outdoor recreation strategy.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• sportscotland: Scotland's national sport agency, with explicit responsibility for outdoor recreation and access. It is the most direct UK cross-jurisdictional analogue to Outscape's combined strategy, training and participation remit.
• NatureScot: Scotland's nature agency (formerly Scottish Natural Heritage), responsible for outdoor access, greenspace and nature-based recreation. Strong functional analogue in strategy, advice and sector support.
• Outdoor Industries Association: UK trade association for the outdoor recreation sector, convening industry, government and stakeholders. Comparable in convening/sector-coordination role to Outscape's secretariat function for the Outdoor Recreation Network.
• Sport Wales: Welsh national sport body with an outdoor recreation and active travel portfolio. Comparable in scale, remit and government-funded NPO structure to Outscape.
• Cairngorms National Park Authority: Scotland's largest national park authority, responsible for outdoor recreation strategy, visitor services, training and participation within the park. Closest UK analogue to Outscape's combined strategy, training and participation mandate at a single-territory scale.
• Sport NI: Sport Northern Ireland is the public body for sport and active recreation in Northern Ireland, including outdoor recreation investment. It is the closest in-jurisdiction peer to Outscape and co-funds or co-delivers several outdoor recreation initiatives.

Broad incumbents

• Wildlife Trusts: UK federation of 46 local wildlife trusts managing nature reserves, outdoor access and engagement programmes. Broader incumbent with overlapping scope in outdoor recreation, training and participation.
• Natural England: UK Government's advisor on the natural environment, with responsibility for National Trails and access to nature. A broader, larger incumbent that operates in the same outdoor recreation and access space as Outscape.
• National Trust: Major UK conservation charity managing outdoor spaces, trails and recreation access. A much larger incumbent with overlapping activity in outdoor access, participation and conservation, but operating at significantly greater scale.

Regional players

• Forestry England: Public body managing England's public forests for recreation, health and biodiversity. Comparable in combining recreation management with sector training and outdoor engagement, but operating in a different UK jurisdiction.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/outdoorrecni
• Facebookfacebook.com/p/Outscape-61574240827088
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/outdoor-recreation-ni

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Outdoor Recreation Northern Ireland