NIRPN September 2024 Event
Northern Ireland Research Professionals Network come together to discuss the challenges and solutions to delivering impact and innovation from research in NI.
At the end of September, the Northern Ireland Research Professionals Network welcomed 75 research administrators from across the region’s research and innovation ecosystem for an event at the MAC, Belfast. The event focused on the pivotal role research professionals play in delivering impact and innovation from research. Attendees heard from the Department for the Economy, as well as peers working in policy, knowledge exchange, innovation and culture.
Dr June Faccini, Department for the Economy NI, opened the event by emphasising the importance of research, development and innovation in supporting the delivery of NI’s economic strategy. She remarked on the critical management and facilitation role research professionals play and how crucial it is for the region to perform better, compete more effectively, and deliver the best outcomes for our investment in research.
She also highlighted the importance of initiatives like the Northern Ireland Research Professionals Network in creating opportunities for research administrators to share knowledge, experiences and best practice, discuss common challenges and to innovate and develop stronger working relationships.
Attendees had the opportunity to gain insights from a diverse range of research professionals, each contributing unique perspectives on the issues and opportunities they encounter. Speakers included Lorraine Marks (Head of Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, Queen’s University Belfast), Dermot Tierney (Chief Operating Officer, AMPLY Discovery), Dr Sarah Baccianti (Research Manager, National Museums NI) and Dewi Knight (Director, PolicyWISE). They shared their experiences of working with stakeholders across academia, industry, government and cultural heritage institutions to deliver impact and innovation.
Finally, attendees engaged in discussions on the barriers they face in their roles as knowledge brokers between academics and industry and importantly how these challenges could be addressed through the network. Common challenges included difficulties in working across sectors, including mismatch of goals and objectives between academia and other sectors, challenges in communication, processes and time frames across different agencies, and a misunderstanding of culture and communication techniques. Participants also had a range of ideas for short and longer term solutions to these issues. Many of these centred on sharing and replicating best practice within and across sectors, cross-sectoral education and awareness raising, and better relationship building for early intervention between research professionals and academic researchers.
The event concluded with a renewed commitment to leveraging the NIRPN to address common challenges. As the network grows, it will continue to offer valuable opportunities for research professionals to network, collaborate, exchange best practices, and enhance the impact of research in Northern Ireland.
Drawing on feedback from participants, the event was successful in creating opportunities for networking, knowledge enhancement and collaboration and everyone agreed they would attend future events. More than three quarters of participants made new connections, and more than half listed multiple benefits to attending, including feeling more informed about how to improve research culture and feeling more optimistic about research culture.
The next NIRPN event will focus on addressing regional balance and connectivity. Visit the website and join the network to find out more.