People, Place, Policy and Practice for Play

Overview

The P4Play Marie Sklodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network (MSC ITN) is a European Joint Doctorate (EJD) programme in Occupational Science for Occupational Therapists.

The P4PLAY EJD will establish the first innovative trans-European Occupational Science doctoral programme dedicated to enabling play. The outcome will be the training of a new generation of early stage researchers (ESRs), who can translate and implement innovative play solutions to benefit the health and wellbeing of diverse children, families and communities.

P4PLAY will progress a rights-based agenda for all children at risk of play deprivation through the development of a child-centred play research programme in relation to four fundamental areas: play occupation, policy, places and practice.

Aims and Objectives

The fundamental aim of the P4PLAY EJD is to develop a sustainable doctoral programme that delivers ambitious and high-quality graduates to drive innovative research and practice in occupational science and therapy. Increasing occupational therapists' ability to be consumers and producers of research is vital to transform therapy practice so that it is research-informed and evidence-based. Further details are available at the project website which can be accessed here

In 2020, members of the project team prepared a video on children and play for Cork Discovers (part of European Researchers Night) which is accessible through the following link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQAD5JfeJ9Y 

Project Funding & Dates:

This project has been funded under the Horizon 2020, Marie Sklodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network (ITN) Programme and runs from March 2020 - February 2024.

P4PLAY Consortium

P4PLAY is a collaboration between the Departments of Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy in University College Cork, Ireland (project coordinator), Lulea University of Technology, Sweden, Queen Margaret University Edinburgh, Scotland and Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Switzerland. The consortium also includes fifteen partner organisations from across Europe, including government play policy advisors, NGO advocacy groups and designers of play materials.

Project Coordinators:

Professor Jeanne Jackson and Dr Helen Lynch (co-PIs) Dept of Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy, UCC.