New Irish Initiative Puts Communities at the Heart of Research

What happens when communities lead research? Incorporating the lived and living experience of a community underpins better research questions, better answers and better outcomes that make a real difference in the lives of the people who need it the most.

UCC is leading a pioneering Irish initiative that will support health research charities and the communities they serve to identify issues that matter most to them. Involved at every stage of the research lifecycle – from initial concept to delivery of final outcomes - communities will partner with UCC researchers to design and undertake community-prioritised research.

Research is too often perceived as inaccessible to charities and their communities, with research funding programmes typically focused on large top-down projects. Equally, there is a gap in recognition of the value that communities bring to research and the critical role they play in both identifying real needs and translating research outcomes to benefits people really feel.

Building on a long history of engaged research between University College Cork (UCC) researchers and broad-ranging community partners, the innovative ERICA Community-Led Research Scheme is placing communities at the very heart of the research process. Together with UCC researchers, the ERICA initiative will support communities to explore, through participatory or collaborative or socially engaged research, the issues that matter most in their lives, delivering the outcomes that will make a real difference.

ERICA is the first scheme of its kind in Ireland. Funded by the Wellcome Trust, ERICA builds on learning from successful community led initiatives developed by the British Science Association (BSA).  It will partner Health Research Charities Ireland (HRCI) member charities with UCC early career researchers to co-design research that addresses priorities set by the charities and the people and communities they serve.

The scheme is founded on the principle that communities are experts in their own lived experience and that this is what drives the research focus and priorities. Matching with UCC researchers is driven entirely by the needs of the proposed community research projects, rather than researchers deciding what should be investigated.

This approach addresses a significant criticism of research - that communities have limited opportunities to shape the questions that research seeks to answer. In a significant step forward, the ERICA initiative will support charities and their communities to develop their own capacity to co-design research questions, collect data, and use participatory and creative methods to explore issues relevant to their own lives. Participating researchers will be supported with training to foster meaningful collaboration, reciprocal learning and a deeper understanding of community-led research. ERICA will leave a legacy of reciprocal benefit that will drive greater and more impactful future research.

A call for ideas particularly welcomes contributions from Health Research Charities Ireland members working with communities whose voices are underrepresented in research, including those experiencing health and wellbeing inequalities. By increasing the representation of traditionally marginalised groups, ERICA promotes equality, diversity and inclusion throughout the research process, its practice and outcomes, thereby building a culture of socially engaged research within both the university and the wider community.

Dr Avril Kennan CEO, HRCI said: "Health research charities are very close to the communities they serve and hear every day about the questions and problems that matter to people. But those priorities don’t always find their way into research. What is exciting about this scheme is that it turns the usual model around: the starting point is the issue that matters to people, and we then bring in the research expertise to help investigate it. We’re really pleased to be working with UCC and the British Science Association to create this opportunity for HRCI members to deliver for their communities."

Professor John O'Halloran, MRIA, President of UCC said: "Universities have an important role to play in connecting expertise in all its forms, including that of communities and academics. The ERICA project will significantly advance UCC's commitment to building an inclusive research system that extends the opportunity to all members of our society to participate and contribute. ERICA embodies one of our most important responsibilities as a university, which is to work in partnership with society to advance knowledge while creating meaningful benefits for the communities we serve."