Cork Folklore Project

Dr. Cliona O’Carroll, Department of Folklore and Ethnology, School of Irish Learning

Impact: Local, National, International

The Cork Folklore Project explores the following questions through its practice. What does responsible, engaged cultural heritage stewardship look like? What can tradition and oral history archives contribute to the world of research and the ‘real world’? Whose histories do we record, and for whom? And how do celebration, creativity and slow, critical engagement come together in a cultural heritage context? The safeguarding of cultural heritage (Target 11.4) is the central activity of this community-based ethnographic interviewing and archiving centre. CFP also supports and champions the creative approaches required by the SDG’s bold developmental vision. CFP cultural heritage practices and platforms are uniquely placed to encourage and support conversations about how we experience and engage with our world, how this has changed over time, and how we wish to shape it in the future. CFP’s structure, where job-seeking project researchers are trained in digital and ethnographic methods to document local communities, supports targets 4.4 (education for relevant skills in adults) and 8.3 (supporting productive activities). Our work crucially supports Goal 11, making cities inclusive, safe resilient and sustainable, as we provide resources for communities, local authorities, tourist and business initiatives to find resonances for their activities our accounts of how people lived, created, built livelihoods, responded to challenges and inhabited spaces.

The Cork Folklore Project stands as an internationally-recognised engaged oral history and tradition archives unit, which has been collecting, archiving and sharing documentation and oral testimony on vernacular urban life since 1996. It is a leading iteration of slow and thoughtful engagement with the cultural expression and testimony of various communities, which supports the foregrounding of the value and richness of oral testimony in community, creative, archival and academic research contexts. Its work informs international conversations on approaches to the collection, safeguarding and use of intensely qualitative data.

An interviewee and supporter of the Cork Folklore Project’s work, ‘Irish Jack’ Lyons, expresses some of the ways in which the CFP engages with, animates and safeguards the cultural heritage of the city - 

“It's valid, it's near Shandon, it's where the old Credit Union first operated in 1969, it's got amazing, dedicated people pulling the culture pumps, it's cerebral, uplifting and it's the anecdotal voice of Cork. It can be subversive."

SDG 11 - Cities and Communities

• Target 11.4 - Protect the world's cultural and natural heritage
  

SDG 4 - Quality Education

• Target 4.4 - Increase the number of people with relevant skills for financial success
  

SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth

• Target 8.3 - Promote policies to support job creation and growing enterprises
  

Cities of Neurodiversity

Dr. Therese Kenna, Department of Geography, School of the Human Environment

Impact: International

This project explores the lived urban experiences of those who identify as neurodiverse and encourages these voices to be integrated into urban planning and policy to create more inclusive and sustainable cities. This project will produce several peer-reviewed papers to address a current gap in knowledge of neurodiverse experiences of urban space. It is anticipated that these outputs will be used to inform urban planning and decision making, as well as the formulation of urban policies for inclusive and sustainable cities. This research will contribute to meeting SDGs 10 and 11, specifically aimed at targets for the inclusion of diverse groups in society (10.2), reducing inequalities through relevant urban and social policies (10.3), encouraging inclusive and sustainable urbanisation (11.3) and the creation of more inclusive public spaces within cities (11.7). This work is contributing to the development of an urban geography of neurodiversity that attends to the plurality of neurodiversity and of neurodiverse experiences of the city, allowing careful contributions to urban planning and policy for inclusive and sustainable cities.

“I engage in research-led teaching and this project forms part of the teaching and learning of urban geography at UCC. Beyond SDGs 10 and 11, this project extends to SDG 4 (quality education) as positioning this research within the urban geography curriculum ensures 'all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development' (4.7).”

- Dr. Therese Kenna

SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities

• Target 11.3 - Inclusive and sustainable urbanisation
• Target 11.7 - Provide access to safe and inclusive green and public spaces

SDG 10 - Reduced Inequalities

• Target 10.2 - Promote universal social, economic and political inclusion
• Target 10.3 - Ensure equal opportunities and end discrimination

Emergency Management (EM) Decision Support Tools for COVID-19

Dr. Karen Neville, Centre for Resilience & Business Continuity (CRBC) & Department of Business Information Systems, Cork University Business School

Impact: Local, National

Dr. Karen Neville and her team - Dr. Nora McCarthy and Dr. Simon Woodworth - were asked by the HSE South/Southwest Hospital Group to deliver 3 COVID-19 solutions:

1. A mass training-and-assessment Virtual Course on Donning and Doffing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) was deployed in 10 hospitals for 8,000 staff.
2. An Emergency Management Information System (EMIS) was implemented in 14 hospitals with immediate impact to patients and 80 clinical end-users.
3. A Transport Request System (TRS) for COVID-19 and major weather events was implemented for national use.

The ability to prevent, manage and recover from emergencies is vital to the safety of European citizens. The three solutions have advanced research in this work. Research from FP7, Horizon and locally awarded grants was leveraged to support communities as part of the national effort in response to COVID-19. The EMIS supports decision-making, and its lessons are being shared with EM academics and practitioners to ensure its application in different countries. The PPE training and TRS solutions are regionally and nationally deployed. Each solution has impacted regional and national policies and directly contributes to SDG 9 and SDG 11. The tools were built from lessons-learned through the successful €3.5 million FP7 S-HELP project and other grants awarded to Dr. Neville, resulting in decision support and training tools for decision-makers. The tools have advanced research in managing and learning from emergencies. This is a requirement of EC:FP7/H2020 research, but it is rarely achieved.

“It was an honor, for us, to be asked to support the national effort in the response to COVID-19. The result is an Emergency Management Tool-set  that provide training and assessment for health professionals, automated real-time reporting to alleviate pressures on intensive care units (ICUs) and transport resource management during extreme emergencies."

- Dr. Karen Neville (PI & Founder of CRBC), Dr. Nora McCarthy and Dr. Simon Woodworth

SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities

SDG 9 - Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

SDG 4 - Quality Education

Parents' Willingness to Pay for Safe Cycling Infrastructure in an Urban Area

Dr. Declan Jordan, Spatial and Regional Economics Research Centre, Cork University Business School

Impact: Local, National

This research aims to address the lack of evidence on barriers to cycling for schoolchildren in an Irish urban setting and the assesses the value perceived by parents for safe cycling infrastructure for their children’s’ commute to school. It provides evidence on how Ireland can encourage a generational shift to active travel to achieve associated significant health, environmental, social, and economic benefits. Regular physical activity brings significant health, environmental, social, and economic benefits. Active travel to school is a mechanism by which children and young people can counter the effects of more sedentary lifestyles, contribute to environmental challenges, and enhance wellbeing. Investment in safe cycling infrastructure for school children may provide generational shifts in behaviour. However, international evidence indicates that currently fewer children and adolescents are cycling. The climate emergency, urban congestion, and concerns over rates of childhood obesity have increased attention on the need for greater levels of active commuting in urban areas in Ireland and internationally.

This paper addresses the lack of scholarly empirical research on the demand, costs, and benefits of cycling infrastructure in Ireland and contributes to the evidence base for policy making on developing liveable and sustainable Irish cities. It will underpin demands for a shift away from fossil fuel car dependency in our urban areas and contribute directly to Cork's transition to becoming a climate neutral and smart city by 2030 as part of the EU Cities Mission. Willingness to pay studies are an under-utilised method for assessing the value of sustainable travel investments in Irish urban areas. Also, the focus on safe cycling to school seeks to ensure a generational shift to break Ireland's car dependency and childhood obesity crisis.

SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities

• Target 11.2 - Affordable and sustainable transport systems
• Target 11.3 - Inclusive and sustainable urbanisation
• Target 11.6 - Reduce the environmental impact of cities

SDG 13 - Climate Action

• Target 13.2 - Integrate climate change measures into policies and planning

Socio-Cycle: Exploring the Socio-Cultural Significance of Cycling in an Irish Regional City

Dr. Eileen Hogan, School of Applied Social Studies & Institute for Social Science in the 21st Century (ISS21)

Impact: Local, National

In partnership with Cork Environmental Forum and the Cork Cycling Campaign, this study investigates the socio-cultural meanings of cycling with a view to informing effective pro-cycling policy in Irish regional cities. In current policy and planning discourse, there is great interest in reimagining and redesigning cities as more cycling-friendly spaces. In Ireland, government and local councils have recently announced significant investment in long-awaited cycling infrastructure. While positive, it remains to be seen how effective these interventions will be in promoting and sustaining cycling for transport and leisure. Ireland currently has a low cycling uptake in comparison to other European countries with a strong cycling culture, such as the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany. The most commonly-cited barrier to cycling is road safety and therefore improved cycling infrastructure is key to promoting bike use. However, research indicates that investments in the built environment are not enough to increase cycling rates. Social and cultural factors are also significant in determining the strength of a city’s cycling culture but are complex and inadequately researched in policy-making contexts. This project addresses this research gap in the Irish context.

The outcomes of this project will:

• address a gap in the sociological and social policy literature on cycling in Ireland
• contribute to knowledge on cycling culture and practices and the impact of pro-cycling policy and planning in Ireland
• develop an evidence base for cycling advocacy and the promotion of cycling as a sustainable mobility mode.

This research has the potential to shape:

• evidence-informed environmental policy and planning and better cycling infrastructure
• improved individual and collective well-being due to an uptake in cycling rates
• new connections to cycling-centred international research expertise and new international collaborations

“In collaboration with Cork Environmental Forum and the Cork Cycling Campaign, we hope to collectively contribute to a deeper understanding of cycling as a social practice, thereby advancing social scientific knowledge on cycling in Ireland and beyond. In turn, we can contribute to dialogue on policy and planning that advances low-carbon, sustainable modes of transport and inform pro-cycling policy-making through evidence-based research.”

– Dr. Eileen Hogan 

SDG 11 - Cities and Communities

SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being

SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production

Energy ECS 

Dr. Mike Hayes, Micro & Nano Systems Centre, Tyndall National Institute

Impact: International

Energy ECS will develop a set of technologies to improve the connectivity, flexibility and digitalization of e-mobility systems, linking their use with the electric network, and using energy to provide services, generate data and interact with other vehicles and smart mobility infrastructure. The set of Electronics, Components and Systems (ECS) developed in the project will tackle important challenges and issues in connectivity components, flexibility, and digitalization for e-mobility, including electrical connection to grid, intermodal transport, autonomous driving, data generation and vehicles as service providers. The Irish partners in this EU ECSEL project – Tyndall and NetFeasa (SME) - will focus on 1 of 6 project use cases related to intermodal transport, developing their own technologies as well as integrating those of other partners. NetFeasa aims to develop a monitoring platform ('IoTPASS') to monitor dry containers for rail, sea and road transportation to assure safe, compliant and energy efficient transportation of goods. Tyndall will develop energy harvesting based power management solutions to provide longer battery life of the NetFeasa wireless device. 95% of dry containers globally are not sensorized due to battery life on comms issues.

Adding intelligence will help reduce the energy and carbon footprint, cost and time of transporting goods (SDG 12, SDG 13). It also enables stakeholders to track goods, minimize losses, detect anomalies, assure safe and compliant transportation. This gives NetFeasa a major edge over competitors by offering such asset tracking services (SDG 9, SDG 11). This research leverages Tyndall's expertise in energy harvesting, power management and system integration and provides funds to build on this.  This work also helps academia (Tyndall) and industry (NetFeasa) to build international relationship with partners to co-develop the solutions.

SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities

SDG 9 - Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

SDG 12 - Responsible Conumption and Production