Building a sustainable research culture at Carlow College, St. Patrick’s

Authors:  Eoghan Smith; Ida Milne

Organisation:  Carlow College, St. Patrick's

In 2019, as part of a strategic review, Carlow College included research as a key pillar of its Academic Framework to support staff research and to recognise research as a valued activity. To develop research at Carlow College, six key strategic goals were established:

•        Identify existing areas of research within the College
•        Support and promote staff research through institutionalised commitment, including seeking research funding.
•        Support the career development of staff as active researchers.
•        Develop a research strategy that aligns with College strategy, mission and ethos
•        Support the dissemination of research to multiple audiences and to connect the college’s research expertise with local and national organisations, communities and institutions.
•        Play a supporting role in College programme development by identifying, utilising and enhancing existing and potential areas of College research and expertise.

To enable the achievement of these goals, the College established a Research Hub, driven by research-active staff. The Research Hub disseminates information on staff research internally via quarterly newsletters and externally via its social media channels), organises public talks and research-related CPD, and hosts the College’s annual Research Week. Research was also included in the College Academic Workload Allocation Policy, and a number of internal research supports were made available. The result of this work is that Carlow College now has a busy, institutionally supported established research culture.

Conclusions to be drawn from the Carlow College experience are that (1) management buy-in is crucial; (2) institutional research ambitions need to recognise college size and resources, and work towards realistic targets.