The document describes the proposed Applied Research Centre (ARC) which would be a joint initiative between University College Dublin (UCD) and the Research Triangle Institute (RTI). ARC would leverage UCD's academic expertise and RTI's experience in applied research methods to conduct large-scale, multidisciplinary research. ARC aims to increase Ireland's capacity for complex applied research, inform policymaking, and support economic growth through job creation and skills development.

1. UCD·RTI
Applied Research Centre
(ARC)

2. Why ARC?
• Applied Research Centre
• National, EU and international research markets call for
increased applied research with tangible societal impact
• ARC serves as a fully integrated solutions provider for those
seeking evidence-based answers to critical societal challenges
• Through the combination of technical expertise and blue-skies
academic research, ARC delivers critical advances in applied
research capacity to Ireland and beyond
• Growing movement towards multidisciplinary research
funding opportunities that include Social Science and
Humanities and ‘hard’ sciences
• In addition the science and theory of applied research is
furthered through the development of new methodologies
and tools

3. What is ARC?
• Applied Research Centre (ARC). The intention is to establish ARC as a
centre of excellence in the field, underpinned by academic
partnerships between both organisations.
• Scalable applied research in Europe across academic diciplines
• Synergies in basic disciplinary research and the capacity for large-
scale, complex applied research brought by ARC brings increased
technical capacity in the design and execution of large and complex
studies to UCD, Ireland and Europe
• Gold standard leading-edge survey, statistical, evaluation, and other
applied research methods developed at RTI complement the high-
quality academic research conducted at UCD and bring breadth and
depth to joint research initiatives
• Designs and conducts complex national, and international, surveys
as well as economic, statistical, epidemiological, and social policy
research
• ARC serves as a fully integrated solutions provider for those seeking
evidence-based answers to critical societal challenges

4. Why ARC?
• The results of work conducted at
UCD·RTI ARC will contribute to
the formulation and execution of
policy within Ireland and Europe.
• It will ensure that decisions made
by government and private sector
clients are informed by excellent
statistical and topically relevant
evidence.
• New dimension to the academic
research conducted at UCD in
terms of technical capacity for
large-scale state-of-the art survey
work.

5. ARCislocatedonUCDsBelfieldCampus
ARC

6. ARC and new opportunities?
• As ARC grows and consolidates its operations in Ireland, it will
explore many other avenues and opportunities for research
partnerships across a variety of disciplines in addition to those
mentioned above by matching the many and varied academic
interests of UCD staff with the technical capacity of RTI.
• Through the compelling combination of technical expertise
and blue-skies academic research, ARC delivers critical
advances in applied research capacity to Ireland and beyond.
In addition the science and theory of applied research is
furthered through the development of new methodologies
and tools which can be applied in subsequent research
scenarios. The outputs of the Centre will deliver
recommendations and advice to policy makers in government
and public service.

7. People
Exchange
Students
Internship
Network, workshops
and seminars
Research
Strategic alliance: RTI,
UCD
Collaborations
Technology Centres
Contract Research
Consultancy
Service
Offering
Survey technologies
and methodologies
Innovative
Partnerships
Education
ARC Business Model

8. Applied Social Science Research
ARC
Security
Environment
and Earth
Sciences
Global
Ireland
ICT
Health and
eHealth
Economics
and Social
Policy
Social
Science

9. Research Funding and ARC
• Ireland:
• Industry: market research, consumer studies, industry analysis, economic cultures
• Academia: high quality applied research supports basic academic research
• Government: reliable consistent data for policy support
• EU:
• Networks possibilities for collaborative research opportunities
• Transatlantic AND EU research opportunities
• Increased multidisciplinary focus
• Overall goals
• Access to new research markets
• Increased success of funding attainment
• Research collaborations opportunities for student, early stage and established researcher staff
• Consolidated research partnerships with Irish, European and US networks
• Raise expected standards in quality applied research
• Combinations of basic and applied research
• Anchor in accessing increasing access to funding opportunities
• Ireland as a leader in (applied) research excellence
• EU research market influence
• Example disciplines: social science, computer science and computational modeling, education and
training, health and clinical trials

10. Research
Academic Excellent in Basic Research coupled with Experience and
Capacity in Applied Research
Health
Health and
healthcare
delivery
Health research
Drug discovery
and
development
ICT
Information,
computation
and
communication
Advanced
technology
Globalisation
Global Ireland
International
development
Environment
Social Policy
and
Economics
Earth sciences,
energy and the
environment
Energy and
environmental
science
Social Policy
and Economics
Education and
training
Economic and
social policy
research

11. Relationship Management
•Project•Individual
innovation
(Staff and
students)
•Programme•Institute
Ambassador
Use existing
networks
Consortium
Career
development

12. ProgrammeManagement
Programme lifecycle
• Project lifecycle
• Initiation
• Planning
• Execution
• Closure
• Network
• Dissemination
• Call influence for
programme
prioritization
• Easier access for
new project
development
Research Funding
Programme Management
Proposal and
projects
Network and
consortia
Project Implementation
Outputs and Impacts:
Research, Enterprise, Societal
Programme lifecycle: feedback into
the programme
Relationship
management
Staff and
students
ARC
Parallel new
methodologies and
tools applicable in
subsequent
research

13. Service offering: Research
• The gold standard survey, statistical, evaluation, and other applied research methods
developed at RTI complement the high-quality basic research conducted at UCD

14. Advances Survey Related Services
Advances survey and clinical
research services
• Survey weighting and imputation
• Non response bias estimation
• Variance estimation
• Design optimization
• Quality assurance
• Non-sampling error analysis
• Statistical disclosure control
• Sampling schemes for large and
small scale surveys
• Data collection
• Adaptive total design
• Usability testing
• Questionnaire design, evaluation
and testing
• Cognitive interviewing
• Cross cultural surveying design
and translation
• Survey sensitive topic
• Clinical trials
• eLearning
Advanced survey related
services
Analysis and Reporting
• Cluster Correlated data
• Small area estimation
• Latent class modelling
• Disclosure risk
• Online analysis tools

15. Advances Survey Related Services
Fieldwork Data Processing
• Cleaning data sets
• Making data available in
appropriate statistical
package (SPSS, STATA, R
etc.)
• Archiving: management,
storage and retrieval of
survey data in
accordance with ethical
standards
• Computer assisted
interviewing (CAI)
• Audio computer self
interviewing (ACASI)
• Computer audio-
recorded interviewing
(CARI)
• Mobile computing
• Scannable surveys

16. Advances Survey Related Services
• Site Training and
coordination
• Development of Manual of
Operations
• Site Training
• Oversight of study
implementation
• Enrollment monitoring and
retention support
• Statistical analysis and
reporting
• Analytical methods
• Data safety and monitoring
board and safety and
efficacy reports
Example: Clinical research and behavioral trials capability
• Survey design:
• Hypothesis testing
• Selection of study outcome
measures
• Statistical design, power
calculation and randomization
• Protocols development
• Analysis planning
• Data capture and
management
• Electronic data capture (EDC)
• Patient reported outcomes
(PRO) data
• Ancillary systems

17. Research Services and Supports
Organisation
Research
Project
• Liaise regards organisational needs
• Cyclical system
• Research funding calls
• Inter and Multidisciplinary network
opportunities
•Central support office, single source
for information and management
•Negotiation with external agencies
• Career opportunities and training
•Individual staff /department support
•Through project life cycle
•Management support services,
effective decision making, and
reporting administration
•Dissemination strategies

18. Dedicated EU Services and Supports:
ARC
•Key visions and the identification of appropriate calls
•Templates
•Network
•Liaise with EC on behalf of the institute (NCP’s, EC, EI)
•Disseminate information internally
•Maximise funding opportunities
Project
Management
•Proposal writing and project evaluation
•Annex: WP, milestones and deliverables
•Consortium Agreement , IPR, Gender Action Plan
•Reporting: (financial, scientific, management, SESAM)
•Support the Governing Board
•Efficient distribution of funds to the consortium members
•Day-to-day functions

19. Major Research € Recurrence How to compete UCD RTI ARC
Eurobaromoter ? Consistent calls ? PI Methodology and
analysis
Management and
field work
European Social Survey 300,000 2012, next
2016
EU Tender PI Methodology and
analysis
Management and
field work
National Health and
Wellbeing
750,000 2013, 2018 eTender PI Methodology and
analysis
Management and
field work
Eurostat Regular calls EU Tenders PI Methodology and
analysis
Management and
field work
FP7/Horizon 2020 400,000 Annual EU Call PI Subcontract for field
research, methodology
and analysis
Management and
field work
Connected Health Centre 250,000 Annual UCD Joint
Programme
PI PI Management and
PostDoc
European Values Study ? 2017
European Quality of Life
Surveys
SHARE - Survey of Health,
Ageing and Retirement in
Europe
European Union Labour
Force Survey (EU LFS)
European Health Interview
Survey (EHIS) Wave 2
Research Forecast: EU Surveys

20. Networks
ARC
Irish, EU and
global level
Research
stakeholders
Researchers
Funding
bodies
Policy
makers
Enterprise
• ARC are continuously expanding
our network of researchers,
technologists, research agencies,
government organisations and
research stakeholders from
Ireland, the United States, the EU
and beyond.
• The focus of this networking
activity is to best apply our
collective knowledge to
contemporary research
challenges.
• ARC’s strategy is to maximise the
accessibility of funding
opportunities to answer societal
questions by effective
collaboration between basic and
applied research.

21. UCD Research
Project
Research
Partners
Technology
Centre
Other
CASL EHSIS Sogeti,
Luxembourg
Connected
Health
PHPPS ISSP Milieu,
Brussels
Early Child
Research
Centre
SmartLab DAISI DERI, NUIG
Geary FraNet Amarach,
Ireland
Department of
Sociology, UCD
FP7 SSH ECEC
Earth Institute FP7 Health
Fit4Cancer
EU Labour
Force Survey
Collaborations

22. Networks
International Ireland EU
ARC Networks

23. Enterprise DevelopmentAppliedResearchOutputandImpact
Programme Vision
e.g. economic policy
Ireland and the global
economy
Education and the economy:
staff and students
Innovation
Applied technology transfer
Irish Global Networks:
enterprise and research
• Link between basic
research and application
• Strengthen Ireland-US
economic links
• Graduates trained in new
applied methodologies
• Support cutting edge
innovations
• Direct output and impact
• Hub for Irish based global
enterprise/research
collaborations

24. Career Pathways
• New funding
opportunities
• Multidisciplinary
• Training and education
modules
• National and international
exchanges
• PhD, postdoctoral and
early stage researcher
exchanges
• National and international
networks

25. Impact:
• “What have you discovered?
• Why is it important?
• What have you done about it?
If you can answer those three questions, you’re on the way to
measuring impact.” Mark Ferguson, SFI
• ARC supports research in answering these questions from the
outset!

26. Impact and Output
• Research Capability Impacts:
• Increased success in accessing funding markets and opportunities
• Investigator led research projects
• Networks and new international research collaborations
• Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary work
• Creation of research space, influence national and international research programmes
• Increase inward investment in creating critical mass
• Human Capital Impacts:
• New methodologies and research tools
• New education modules
• Enhancement of applied research competencies
• Career pathways for students and staff
• Service training and increase skill sets
• Profile and Reputational Impacts:
• National and international profile of researcher, initiative, centre and institution
• Publications
• Research that influences policy documents and provision of advice to government
• Wider Economic Impacts:
• Create jobs in Ireland and internationally
• Spin outs, technologies, tools, services and products

27. What ARC can deliver for Ireland
and Europe
• Create Irish jobs directly through field research staff and indirectly through increased
funding success
• Extend international reputation (e.g. China and expanding markets) maximize the 'applied'
focus through support in the development of parallel outputs: future collaborations, policy
recommendations, technologies, products, knowledge's, research programme input for
future proofing the research area
• The outputs of the Centre will deliver recommendations and advice to policy makers in
government and public service. Subsequently the results of work conducted at ARC will
contribute to the formulation and execution of policy within Ireland and Europe. It will
ensure that decisions made by government and private sector clients are informed by
excellent statistical and topically relevant evidence.
• New dimension to the academic research in terms of technical capacity for large-scale
state-of-the art survey work.
• As ARC grows and consolidates its operations in Ireland, it will explore many other avenues
and opportunities for research partnerships across a variety of disciplines in addition to
those mentioned above by matching the many and varied academic interests
• Through the compelling combination of technical expertise and blue-skies academic
research, ARC delivers critical advances in applied research capacity to Ireland and beyond.
• In addition the science and theory of applied research is furthered through the
development of new methodologies and tools which can be applied in subsequent research
scenarios.

28. Current work
• Current proposals:
• Social science, applied social science and e-social science network
• Social media mining and data analysis
• Health and e-Health: workshops, collaborations and FP7 Health Call
• Security: FP7 Security Call
• Earth Sciences: FP7 Call
• Childhood Research: FP7 SSH project
• Socio-economics and ICT: FP7 ICT Project
• eTenders
• Network:
• Academic, funding bodies, research organisations, policy makers etc.
• National, European and transatlantic research collaborators
• National applied social science network
• Education
• Methodologies, education modules international master classes

29. ARC and…
• Research
• Applied support for basic research in social science and humanities and a
wide range of other fields
• Capacity for large scale national and international gold standard quality
research
• New research opportunities through applied research, helping shape the
future of research in Ireland and the EU
• Transatlantic collaborations for researchers with leading US research
organisation
• Economy
• Create highly skilled Irish jobs, applied course modules adding to
graduate skill sets, establish Ireland as leader in applied research and
support economic recovery

30. Address
Applied Research Centre (ARC)
UCD,
Belfield,
Dublin 4
Ireland
LinkedIn:
http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=4411022&t
rk=myg_ugrp_ovr
Joe Eyerman
1-919-541-7139 (US)
Eyerman@rti.org
Joe.eyerman@ucd.ie
Director
Rob Mooney
+353 (1) 716 4623 (IRL)
Robert.mooney@ucd.ie
Research
Programme
Manager