Invitations are being sent out this week to a broad section of academics, activists and people involved in promoting rural Ireland to join Irish Rural Link's "Rural Think Tank" project.
The body, the first of its kind in Ireland, aimed to provide new thinking and a new vision for rural Ireland in the 21st century.
The chief executive of Irish Rural Link, Séamus Boland, said the project was being established because of a lack of coherent policy and action in key areas.
"These areas include health, employment, enterprise, education, governance, housing and across the whole spectrum of rural society," he said.
"Rural Ireland is changing fast and as farming declines we have to find ways of creating wealth in rural communities to stabilise communities," he added.
He said the project and its inaugural meeting will be co-ordinated by Irish Rural Link in conjunction with the Tipperary Institute. The project is being run with the support of Carnegie UK Trust Rural Development Commission.
The head of sustainable rural development in Tipperary Institute, Ciarán Lynch, said key issues needed to be addressed, such as defining what is meant by sustainable rural communities and how to measure quality of life.