Presentation given as part "Atlantic Stories from the Child and Youth Sector in Ireland" This public history event was organised by the Digital Repository of Ireland in collaboration with the Children's Research Network of Ireland and Northern Ireland to reflect on the legacy of The Atlantic Philanthropies' investment in the child and youth sector across the island of Ireland, and the work and accomplishments of Atlantic grantees. It took place in the Royal Irish Academy, Dublin, on 13th November 2018.

1. The Childrens’ Research Network for
Ireland and Northern Ireland
Dr. Orla Doyle
Atlantic’s stories from the child and youth sector in
Ireland
13th Nov 2018
www.childrensresearchnetwork.org
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2. Overview
• Children’s Research Network of Ireland and
Northern Ireland (CRN) is a membership
organisation that aims to support the research
community to better understand and improve the
lives of children and young people

3. Objectives
• To create opportunities for research, collaboration and
dissemination between academics, practitioners and policy
makers
• To support research skill development by sharing and
transferring knowledge
• To develop management and administrative structures and
mechanisms for the members.

4. History (I)
• In 2009, two independent
networks came together to
create the Network
– Children Health Research Forum,
within the HSE
– Research and Evaluation
Consortium on Children and
Young People
• In 2010, the founding Steering
Group of the Network was
convened included 25
organisations
 The Atlantic Philanthropies
 The Social & Policy Research Institute, University of Ulster
 The School of Nursing & Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin
 Centre for Effective Services
 Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister, Northern
Ireland
 The Geary Institute, University College Dublin
 The School of Political Science & Sociology, NUIG
 Insights Research, Northern Ireland
 The Children’s Research Centre, Trinity College Dublin
 Research Division, Office of the Minister for Children and Youth
Affairs
 Centre for Social & Educational Research, DIT
 Barnardos Ireland
 Institute of Child Care Research, Queen’s University Belfast
 HSE Population Health Children & Young People’s Team
 National Children’s Research Centre, OLHSC, Crumlin
 Improving Children’s Lives, Queen’s University Belfast
 Institute of Child Care Research, Queen’s University Belfast
 School of Applied Social Science, University College Dublin
 Mental Health and Social Research Unit,
 Department of Psychology, National University of Ireland Maynooth
 Kieran McKeown Ltd
 Centre for Effective Education, Queen’s University Belfast
 National Children’s Bureau, Northern Ireland
 Health Intelligence National Population Health Directorate, Health
Service Executive
 West Tallaght Childhood Development Initiative

5. History (II)
• Steering Committee was hosted by the Centre for Effective
Services with support from AP
– Developed the terms of reference & formed the Executive Committee
• Between 2009-2015, the Network was managed by an Executive
Committee
– Provided strategic direction, governance and broad management of the
Network
• Members of the first Executive Committee
– Prof. Catherine Comiskey (TCD); Dr. Orla Doyle (UCD); Dr. Stephen Donnelly
(OFM/DFM Northern Ireland); Claire Hickey (Barnardos); Celia Keenaghan
(HSE)

6. History (III)
• In 2011, the first Network employees started
– Part-time administrator (since April 2011) & part-time Research Fellow (since
Dec 2013)
• In 2012, Network was established in Northern Ireland as a company
limited by guarantee, with Charitable Status from HM Revenue
• Between 2009-2015, Network was largely virtual in nature, having
been hosted on a pro bono basis in Centre for Effective Services (CES)

7. History (IV)
• In 2015, the Network became integrated into CES – CRN retained
own unique identity as an independent membership-led network
• CES took over responsibility for the Network and for the Prevention and Early
Intervention Research Initiative project (PEI-RI)
• Existing Network staff and new staff were employed by CES
• An Advisory Committee was set up to replace the Executive Committee.
• In 2019, the Network will transition from CES to the Trinity Research
in Childhood Centre (TRiCC)

8. Funding
• The Network has been funded by:
– The Atlantic Philanthropies (AP)
– The Department of Children and Youth Affairs
– The Department of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister of Northern
Ireland
– Members subscriptions and event registration fees.
• Since 2015: Substantial funding through the PEI Research
Initiative from AP

9. Membership
• Currently the Network has ~260 members from research, practice
and policy
Main Third Level
• Trinity College Dublin
• NUI Galway
• University College Cork
• University College Dublin
• Ulster University
• Queens University Belfast
• Maynooth University
Sample of other organisations
• HSE
• DCYA
• Amnesty International
• Barnardos
• ISPCC
• Economic and Social Research
Institute
• Centre for Effective Services
• NI Commissioner for Children
and Young People
• Early Childhood Ireland

10. What does the CRN do?
• Events: workshops, master classes, summer schools, PhD
seminars, project days, annual conference
– Opportunities for members to share and discuss their research
• Dissemination: Children’s Research Digest, early childhood
research bulletins, mailing on events, jobs, newsletters plus
Twitter and LinkedIn group
• Website: www.childrensresearchnetwork.org

11. Annual Conference
• 6 Network annual conferences held since 2012
• Broad themes
– Better Outcomes for Children: Are We There Yet?
– Caring for our Children: Lessons learnt – informing future policy and practice
– Researching Children’s Outcomes: An All-Island Approach
– Children’s Mental Health and Wellbeing: Impact on Outcomes for Children
and Young People
– Growing up in the Digital Environment (2018!)
• Keynote speakers from policy & academia & from the North and
South

12. Some conference day pictures
Workshop presentation The Executive Committee
Examining posters Engaged in discussion
Keynote Speakers
Engaged in listening

13. Children’s Research Digest
• Proposal from members to have a
forum for children’s researchers to
publish their work in an accessible
format to reach a wider audience
• Children’s Research Digest - published
2-3 times a year, collecting insights and
work from across the research
community
• First issue published in December 2014
and there have been 5 volumes to date
• Open access journal - short articles and
research summaries

14. PEI Research Initiative
• In 2014, Network was invited to submit proposal to The Atlantic
Philanthropies:
“To develop and implement the Children’s Research Network for
Ireland and Northern Ireland’s Prevention and Early Intervention
Research Initiative”
• Aim of initiative: To build upon and add value to the initial PEI
investments in order to promote the use, exploration and learning
from the data as well as to support capacity building on prevention
and early intervention research
• In 2015, CRN received a grant of €900,000 from AP to undertake
the PEI Research Initiative

15. Aim 1
1. To collect, archive and make available the PEI data sets
• Collect and prepare data sets from the PEI projects from the service
organisations or the project evaluators for archiving in national
archives
• Create a PEI databank which was made publically available through
the national archives
• Outcome: Facilitate more detailed analysis of the data thus creating
even greater knowledge and aid further service development

16. Aim 2
2. To create a granting system that would support the further
exposition and mining of the PEI projects data
• The grants were made available to both more and less experienced
researchers
• It also involved a small number of senior national and international
scholars in research on the data sets
• Outcome: The use of these grants would contribute to increased
knowledge on PEI and also build the capacity of researchers in PEI
research

17. Aim 3
3. Set up and operate a knowledge hub and a dissemination
platform
• The knowledge hub would create a central portal for existing and
new research on PEI
• Focus on training and building the capacity of researchers, service
providers and policymakers
• Outcome: The dissemination platform would ensure that the work
of the PEI-RI will be disseminated widely
₋ It aims to foster collaborative links nationally and internationally

18. Impact of PEI-RI for CRN
• Since 2015, the PEI-RI funding enabled the Network to build up a
body of staff i.e. research coordinator, administrator, project
manager and data curator
• Increased Network activities and outputs from 1 Digest per year
to 3 per year, along with an annual conference, numerous events,
workshops, training sessions, and joint conferences
• Created a new website to showcase all of the outputs and the
critical mass of our membership.

19. Thank you
For more information go to
www.childrensresearchnetwork.org
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