Over the past year, we have been working with partners at the University of Limerick and Queen’s University Belfast on a project. Funded through the North South Research Programme, this work involves the development of a pioneering new research hub to support policy responses to youth crime in Ireland and Northern Ireland.
During the first phase of this four-year project, the team has focused on engagement with policy makers in both jurisdictions and drawing from Implementation Science in planning the project.
Building capacity in Implementation Science
As part of our role on the project, we delivered training to build the capacity of partners in Implementation Science. Over the course of six modules, we shared implementation strategies, tools and frameworks which we use regularly in our work and which can help with everything from framing a research question, to planning how to evaluate outcomes. Implementation Science is particularly useful in addressing complex policy challenges like youth crime, which involve multiple stakeholders working in different settings and jurisdictions.
The team engaged in focused discussions with policy makers, to hear their thoughts on how the project can best support the implementation of policy.
Bridging the research-policy gap
Bridging the research to policy gap is a key part of CES’s strategy– Partnerships, Profile, People, 2022-2026. We recently made a submission to the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to inform their new Statement of Strategy, based on our experience of supporting the use of evidence over the past fifteen years.
Projects like ‘Stable Lives, Safer Streets’ give us the opportunity to collaborate with and add value to the work of the research community, so that it can be used by policy makers and implemented to tackle complex social problems and improve people’s lives.
Planning for the second phase of the project is now underway. ‘Stable Lives, Safer Streets’ will continue throughout the year and into 2024.
For project news and updates, follow @SLSSHub
Link to Implementation Science Tools on CES website
