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AESIS 'Societal Impact of Scientific Research’ conference held at UCD

Friday, 28 June, 2024

On 26 – 28 June, UCD hosted the AESIS Network ‘Societal Impact of Scientific Research’ conference, in partnership with UCD Research and the Office of the Vice-President for Research, Innovation and Impact.

The conference drew delegates from over 30 countries, bringing together experts such as impact officers, other research enablers, R&D evaluators, university managers, research councils, policy makers, funders, researchers and other stakeholders of impact.

The plenary sessions, workshops and roundtable discussions focused on some key topics encompassing the Irish science eco-system that are relevant globally too, such as: defining and integrating impact (of science, research and innovation, talent, and more), measuring and analysing impact, translating impact into policies, creating alliances between regional, national and international stakeholders, and good-practices of public engagement, recognition and investment.

UCD Vice-President for Research, Innovation and Impact, professor Kate Robson Brown opened the first plenary session of the conference. She said: “We at UCD are proud to be hosting the AESIS conference. This is an opportunity for us to learn from each other and to share our lived experiences of the positive impact of science for society. By nurturing this worldwide community of practice we can advance our shared mission to address many challenges we face in this changing world.”

Speakers at the conference included: Dr Elizabeth Gadd, Vice-Chair of the Coalition on Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA); Professor Ellen Hazelkorn, member of the EU Higher Education for Smart Specialisation (HESS) Advisory Group and also of EURASHE, committee for strategic advice of the European Association of Institutions in Higher Education; and Prof David Sweeney, Professor of Research Policy at the University of Birmingham, Deputy Chair of the Commission for Tertiary Education and Research in Wales, and member of the Steering Group of Coalition S, the collaboration to support open access to research publications.

Workshop sessions included: 'Indicators of Impact: Monitoring and demonstrating impact, responsible metrics, methods and tools,' with UCD's Head of Analytics and Impact Liam Cleere and others; and ‘Science Communication Improv’ with Dr Fergus McAuliffe from iCRAG, SFI Research Centre in Applied Geosciences, based at UCD.

Panel sessions included: 'Co-Creation and Citizen Engagement: Building on involvement and engagement for societal impact while respecting communities and building trust, with UCD Manager of Engaged Research and PPI Dr Emma Dorris, and others; and 'Evidence informed Policy Making' with UCD Policy Engagement Project Manager David Bennett, and others.  

David Bennett discussed the development of the new ‘UCD Policy Interface’. Funded by the Higher Education Authority for three years (2023-2025), the project aims to develop centralised policy-engagement supports for the UCD academic community, while enhancing policymaker access to high-quality research evidence and supporting researcher-policymaker relationship building at local, national and International levels. Long-term aims include supporting the development of an all-island policy-engagement network in which universities can collaborate to get the best evidence into policymakers hands.

See the full programmer and learn more about (opens in a new window)‘Societal Impact of Scientific Research’ 2024 Conference.

CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS

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