The External Voice in Defining an Engaged and Inclusive Institutional Research Culture: Engaged & Inclusive Research Culture Alliance (ERICA)
The ERICA Community Led Research Scheme is putting communities at the heart of their own research process – inviting them to co-develop and co-deliver their own research project in partnership with a UCC researcher. ERICA aims to enable societal voices in the co-design of actions leading to a more engaged and inclusive research culture in UCC. Traditional research funding models do not usually support the activities of smaller grassroots community-oriented initiatives. This hinders equitable collaboration between society and researchers, highlighting a need to re-imagine how more inclusive funding models can best alter the current research landscape to best meet the needs of people who should benefit from the research undertaken. ERICA strives to engage community organisations with researchers across the entirety of the research lifecycle to define and deliver public policy and real world impact for the communities they serve.
Programme Partners
British Science Association and Health Research Charities Ireland
ERICA is funded by the Wellcome Trust Institutional Funding for Research Culture
Objectives
To advance research culture in University College Cork beyond our current practice, through mobilising engaged research as a mechanism to catalyse and accelerate deep transformation across the institution.
Our approach is to enable the voices of excluded external communities in the co-design of actions leading to engaged and inclusive research culture excellence, including a novel Community Led Research Scheme, a first for Ireland.
Aims
ERICA’s research programme centres around five interconnected aims.
- Co-create institutional research culture change with communities through enabling societal voices in the co-design of actions leading to engaged and inclusive research culture excellence.
- Support community led research for public policy impact.
- Institutionalise engaged and inclusive research culture excellence.
- Capture and share learning on effective practices for engaged and inclusive research culture transformation.
- Co-create and sustain a Community of Practice.
Deliverables
- A co-designed Theory of Change and a ‘Living Lab’ to accelerate societal participation in research culture transformation.
- A Co-designed Community Led Research Scheme with wrap around research incubation support for community and early career researchers (ECR’s).
- An accredited professional development programme for ECR’s and university wide trainings, co designed and co-taught with community.
- An Independent Evaluation and Impact Assessment.
- The professional coordination and facilitation of the ERICA Alliance COP.
ERICA supports UCC’s Strategic Plan 2023-2028 - Goal One: Research and Innovation.
UCC Research
Aistriú Taighde
Contact us
Office of Vice President for Research & Innovation, 4th Floor, Block E, Food Science Building University College Cork, T12 K8AF