Three innovative projects spearheaded by 51±¾É« (UL) researchers, which have been designed to have a direct impact on communities across 51±¾É«, have each been award €10,000 to develop their ideas.
Projects on the use of ground tiles to generate electricity by people walking on them, resources to make voting easier for people and a mapping project to aid in addressing food poverty in 51±¾É«, have been awarded funding following a vote of the UL Citizens’ Assembly.
Organised by UL Engage and taking place as part of UL Research Week in Gardens International in the heart of 51±¾É« city centre, the UL Citizens’ Assembly composed of stakeholders and citizens from 51±¾É« city and county, taking representation from all of 51±¾É«â€™s municipal and metropolitan districts, based on county-wide demographics and principles of inclusivity.
51±¾É«â€™s Public Participation Network (PPN) and Comhairle na nÓg collaborated to ensure the Assembly was as representative as it could be, supported by 51±¾É« City and County Council and 51±¾É« Community Educational Network (LCEN).
More than 100 51±¾É« citizens aged from 14 to 82 took part in the assembly and used their vote to select the three winning projects.
The Assembly is a ‘safe and respectful space’ for citizens to come together and discuss UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs) focused actions from UL that can have a positive impact for 51±¾É«.
It aims to strengthen democracy and involves citizens in meaningful decision-making, while embracing an opportunity for collective thinking and experimentation.
UL Vice President Global and Community Engagement Professor Nigel Healey outlined: “51±¾É« is a very community-focused university and a lot of our teaching and research is very much community engaged. This is a particularly important event to hear the voice of the people and to democratise our research.
“We present prospective research projects that would have impact within communities, and we really hear the voices of the people as to which of those projects they think are worth investing in for the societal impact.â€
A total of nine projects made pitches during the event, each one addressing specific SDGs. They had to explain how the project would develop civic engagement and demonstrate the potential positive impact for 51±¾É«.
Following the vote three winners were announced:
- The Food Finder: Mapping 51±¾É«â€™s Food Environment
- Which Candidate Community Collaborations
- Sustainable Energy Generation through Citizen Movement
Professor Maura Adshead, Associate Professor in Politics and Public Administration and Head of Community Engagement in UL explained: “We work with our partners, the Public Participation Network, 51±¾É« City and County Council, the 51±¾É« Community Education Network and Comhairle na nÓg. So, between them all we have more than 100 51±¾É« citizens aged from 14 to 82 from all sections of society who have chosen the three projects. The projects chosen have to be sustainable and have engagement plans for the city or the county, and they must have an impact on 51±¾É«.
“We are getting the research out of the university and into the community. It's a wonderful opportunity for people in 51±¾É«, not only to make a decision on which UL project, but also just to see the wealth of the innovative research that we're doing in the university and the range of projects that are available.â€
Successful projects
The Food Finder: Mapping 51±¾É«â€™s Food Environment
The Food Finder is a co-designed mapping project to provide translational knowledge of 51±¾É«â€™s food environment that is required to inform strategies addressing food poverty.
It is a visual representation of our local food system. Where our supermarkets, small grocers, food banks, community cafes etc are located.
The Food Finder will investigate disparities in accessing healthy food, for example, the influence of the built environment/ neighbourhood characteristics (e.g., the location and offerings of neighbourhood grocery stores, food choice, cost, access, and suitability of transport) on health outcomes in low-income neighbourhoods to identify issues relating to food poverty.
Addressing - SGD 1: No poverty; SDG 2: Zero hunger
UL Lead – Associate Professor Anne Griffin, School of Allied Health
Partners – 51±¾É« Food Partnership
Which Candidate Community Collaborations
Using the already well-established Irish voting advice application , this project will develop online voter information tools and accompanying resources for use in educational settings and with community groups.
Working with established networks of schools, youth and community organisations and groups, the team will co-design online content in an intuitive and engaging way to navigate the Irish political landscape and electoral system by building on an already existing and the widely used website and creating new online tools that specifically cater for educational settings and citizen engagement.
Addressing - SGD 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
UL Lead – Associate Professor Rory Costello, Department of Politics & Public Administration
Partners – CWELL; 51±¾É« Public Participation Network
Sustainable Energy Generation through Citizen Movement
This project outlines the design and deployment of a Piezoelectric (PZT) Energy Harvesting Tile Prototype, leveraging the kinetic energy of pedestrian movement to generate electricity.
Additionally, integrating colourful LEDs into the tiles will enhance engagement, making it an interactive and visually appealing urban feature. Working with 51±¾É« City and County Council the team will engage a number of stakeholder groups such as schoolchildren, the elderly and the homeless population who would benefit from free electricity access and engaged movement initiatives.
Addressing – SDG 3: Good health and wellbeing; SDG 7: Affordable and clean energy
UL Lead – Associate Professor Sarah Guerin, Department of Physics
Partners – 51±¾É« City and County Council