Engaged Research

Central to AMBER’s research remit is an engaged research approach to our collaborative projects with not only industry, but all societal partners. Taking the definition outlined by SFI’s Campus Engage, engaged research refers to a broad range of research approaches and methodologies that involve working with stakeholders such as service and products users, members of the public, policymakers, civil and civic society organisations, and industry partners. This approach is used by our scientists to understand and investigate issues of public interest or concern, such as energy storage applications for climate change or wearable technologies.

AMBER’s engaged research programme invites communities and groups to conversations with our researchers around possible innovations based on the materials science and bioengineering research that we carry out. This involvement is crucial to building relationships, raising awareness, and empowering all those involved in and through research. Conversations include discussions on plastics, materials choices for a circular economy, and public patient involvement in materials for health. An important addition to these conversations is the coproduction of and full involvement in the research and innovation process, at every level of the project and its governance, including agenda setting, design, implementation, dissemination, and evaluation activities.

At our dialogic events, we aim to listen and understand the concerns of people, cocreate understanding through social learning, and cogenerate ideas around future possibilities in research. Our community dialogues consider the many ways we think about, and could engage with, the futures of technology based on current materials science and bioengineering research.

The key benefits to our engaged research programme are:

• It allows for greater public accountability
• It requires tacit knowledge exchange to address societal challenges. We are eager to see what lessons can be drawn from upstream public engagement that considers the downstream technologies and innovations arising from research
• It stimulates a stronger external demand for innovative policy, practice, products, and services. It is important to understand how conventional ideas of technological risk can be integrated with wider social and political questions about purposes and alternative trajectories of technological futures
• It maximises the value of research investment and provides a better return on investment for our industry collaborators
• Crucially, it creates better public support and understanding of the importance of research in our everyday lives

We also consider and reflect on the process of engagement through dialogue to identify what changes or recommendations the public would make to improve our engagement practices at AMBER, to ideally improve public engagement capacity of the researcher and processes that we implement.

At each event, participants meet with AMBER researchers, explore current research themes, and talk through implications for the development of future technologies, thus engendering a sense of inclusivity, civic engagement, and insight into technologies & learning. We envisage that participants will feel empowered to engage in other consultative programmes or civic engagement fora.

As part of our continuous drive towards world-leading research, we have an Research Ireland engaged research PhD student. This study is assessing the culture of engaged research in our centre and how to foster even more successful collaborations going forward.

Smart Islands is a cross-border engaged research and citizen science initiative beginning in January 2026. With island primary schools as a hub, the project focuses on working with local communities on Rathlin Island (Northern Ireland) and Inis Mór (Republic of Ireland) to identify how materials science and bioengineering can improve island life across 3 themes: Health, Energy & Sustainability and Biodiversity. Smart Islands promotes interdisciplinary innovation by bringing together citizens of all ages with experts in societal challenges and materials science.

AMBER & Engaged Research

Smart Islands brings AMBER researchers in dialogue with local communities from the beginning of research. It is through this dialogue that issues and needs of relevance to citizens are identified, which researchers respond to. Using a model developed as part of the Amai! project in Flanders, Belgium, Smart Islands brings STEM and Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences to work meaningfully together.

Project coordinators

• Mairead Holden, AMBER
• Beverley McCormick, School of Education, Ulster University
• Adrian Boyd, School of Biomedical Engineering, Ulster University
• Tríona Nic Fhinn, Comhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscoileanna  (COGG)

Consultants: Prof. Justin Magee (Ulster University) & Jef Van Laer (Citizen Science Advisor, Scivil)

Timeline & planned activities

[January-June 2026] Phase 1: Inform & Involve: Engineer the future

·     Working with schools and older community members using LEGO®Serious Play methodology to encourage dialogue and knowledge exchange ·     Researchers/scientists travel to each island to meet local communities and get to know more about island life ·     Students in schools use LEGO® to future cast what island life might look like in 2050 ·     Online sessions with researchers/scientists where students share ideas & work in progress, scientists share insights from their work ·     In-person Shared Learning Day in TCD attended by researchers/scientists & island communities-Students present posters

 

[June 2026- June 2027] Phase 2: Island Innovation on the Islands Challenge

·     Co-creation sessions will bring together citizens, experts in societal challenges and materials science experts to define scope of issues and possibilities for materials science and bioengineering solutions. ·     From sessions, a shortlist of challenges will be collated by an expert panel and published online via an open call. ·     Research teams (interdisciplinary) will propose projects which can address challenges from shortlist. ·     Teams must be made up of a consortium of researcher/s plus one or more of the following: Non-profits/Community group/ Local governments/ Knowledge institutions/Industry. ·     Proposals must respond directly to an idea submitted by citizens. ·     2 projects per island will be selected by citizen jury