Six networking awards to boost UK-Ireland collaboration in the creative economy

Research Ireland has today announced six new awards under the UK-Ireland Collaboration in the Creative Economy Research Networking Awards programme.

Delivered in partnership with the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) in the United Kingdom, these 12-month awards will support new collaborations between researchers and organisations working across creative sectors, helping to build networks and partnerships to support the future development of the creative economy.

Announcing the awards, Dr Diarmuid O’Brien, CEO of Research Ireland, said:

Ireland and the UK are home to world-leading creative sectors, including publishing, screen media, design, and cultural heritage. Research can play an important role in helping us understand and respond to the opportunities and challenges facing these sectors. These awards will support the creation of six new networks to help strengthen the creative sectors, connecting researchers with cultural organisations, industry stakeholders and policymakers across Ireland and the UK. We are delighted to partner with AHRC on this programme, and look forward to seeing these collaborations grow and develop.

Professor Christopher Smith, Executive Chair of the AHRC, said:

The creative economy is a success story the UK and Ireland share, with close collaboration across sectors such as screen, design and publishing critical to the economies of both nations. The new networks will further strengthen these connections, fostering collaborations across sectors and disciplines to advance knowledge, improve lives and support the future growth of the Creative Economy across the Irish Sea.

The six awards, cumulatively valued at €268,498, will support research networks in addressing key challenges and opportunities in the creative economy. These newly established networks will bring together researchers, cultural organisations, policymakers and industry stakeholders to explore themes including reading engagement, social inclusion, migration and mobility, cultural participation, and the sustainability of careers in the creative sectors.

The six projects supported are:

ChYA-NET: The UK-Ireland Children’s & Young Adult Book Ecosystems Network

Leads: Associate Professor Patricia Kennon (Maynooth University) and Professor Melanie Ramdarshan Bold (University of Glasgow)
- ChYA-NET will establish a UK-Ireland research and sector network focused on the future of children’s and young adult book ecosystems. The project will explore the interconnected infrastructure that supports children’s and young people’s reading and book culture at a time of rapid change for the industry.

Design Bridges: Developing and Evaluating Shared Evidence, Skills and Policy Capability for Design-Led Creative Economy Growth

Leads: Dr Caoimhe McMahon (National College of Art and Design) and Professor Anna Whicher (Cardiff Metropolitan University)
Team members/collaborators: Professor Andrew Walters (Cardiff Metropolitan University); Dr Michael Johnson (Glasgow School of Art); Professor Alex Milton (National College of Art and Design); Dr Brian Dixon (University of Ulster)
- Design Bridges brings together researchers, policymakers, design organisations and industry representatives to position design as a core driver of the creative economy in the UK and Ireland. The project aims to establish design policy and evidence infrastructure, facilitate cross-border learning and strengthen skills pipelines.

Lattice: Frameworks to Support Small Press Poetry Innovation

Leads: Dr Kit Fryatt (Dublin City University) and Dr Stephen Mooney (University of Surrey)
Team members/collaborators: Robert Kiely (University of Surrey)
- Lattice will develop a practice-facing poetry network across the UK and Ireland including small presses and printers, traders and bookshops, writers and editors. The project will map the UK-Ireland innovative poetry ecosystem and produce a toolkit for presses and practitioners.

Rethinking Class in the Creative Economy: A UK-Ireland Research Network

Leads: Dr Caroline Ann O’Sullivan (Technological University Dublin) and Professor Beth Johnson (University of Leeds)
Team members/collaborators: Dr Sara De Benedictis (Brunel University London); Dr Bernadette Quinn (Technological University Dublin); Dr Deirdre McQuillan (Technological University Dublin); Dr Mary Ann Bolger (Technological University Dublin); Professor Dave O’Brien (University of Manchester)
- Rethinking Class in the Creative Economy aims to address the underrepresentation of individuals from working-class backgrounds in the creative industries. This network will explore how class is understood and measured in the creative industries across the UK and Ireland, and will produce research and recommendations for creative economy policy and practice.

Screening Mobility: A UK-Ireland creative economy research network

Leads: Associate Professor Anne O’Brien (Maynooth University) and Professor Dave O’Brien (University of Manchester)
Team members/collaborators: Dr Sara De Benedictis (Brunel University London); Dr Jenny Dagg (Maynooth University); Professor Mark Taylor (Sheffield University); Dr Tori Durrer (University College Dublin); Dr Maria O’Brien (University of Galway); Dr Peter Campbell (University of Liverpool); Dr Phil Ramsay (University of Ulster)
- Screening Mobility brings together policy, industry and academic experts on migration and mobility in the UK and Ireland’s Screen Industries. The network will address and develop solutions to the structural forces that shape opportunity, constraint and precarity in the sector.

Shared Authorship: A UK-Ireland ECR Network for Participatory Cultural Practice

Leads: Dr Susan Flynn (South East Technological University) and Professor Zey Suka-Bill (Royal College of Art)
Team members/collaborators: Dr Susan Connolly (South East Technological University)
- Shared Authorship will establish an early career researcher network exploring participatory cultural production in museums and galleries across the UK and Ireland. The project aims to connect researchers with cultural practitioners to support more inclusive cultural participation in the sector.

The programme will involve researchers from 18 higher education institutions across Ireland and the UK. In addition to the 11 host institutions, a further seven institutions are represented through project team membership.

53 organisations across the UK and Ireland are involved across the 6 projects as partners. These include government departments and state agencies such as the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (Ireland) and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (UK); screen and creative industry organisations including the British Film Institute and Animation Ireland; cultural institutions and galleries including GOMA Gallery of Modern Art Waterford and the Whitechapel Gallery; representative and professional bodies including Cultural & Creative Industries Skillnet and SIPTU, as well as publishing and literary organisations including the Scottish Book Trust and Poetry Ireland.

Details of awardsDetails of awards