The Northern Territory government’s recent release of a Stronger Regions strategy raises major questions of public policy and social scientific interest. It represents a shift towards regional planning, as opposed to sectoral planning, as the functional basis of Northern Territory government administrative processes. This paper considers the implications of this policy shift in terms of the data needs to inform the functioning of new governance structures. It asks basic questions about the construction of regions and the role of regional planning. It outlines the key socioeconomic characteristics of the Northern Territory population that have a bearing on the design of new governance structures. It considers the sorts of data needs required by communities and regional authorities to inform their planning processes, and examines issues related to data acquisition, manipulation and application. These issues are illuminated using case study material from Kakadu, south east Arnhem Land, Katherine East, and the Thamarrurr region.