On Thursday 2 May, the Criminal justice Open Research Dialogue (CORD) Partnership hosted its second event of 2024.
Funded by the National Open Research Forum (NORF) under the Open Research Fund Call 2023, CORD is bringing its partners together for three events in 2024 to determine collectively how best to embed a culture of interdisciplinary open research in criminal justice in Ireland.
This webinar brought together around 45 people to investigate the characteristics and operations of research partnerships in other countries, sectors and disciplines. It also gathered participants’ views as to the implications of this knowledge for CORD’s efforts to translate research into policy and practice, and for an ongoing review of literature on criminal justice research partnerships.
First, Dr. George Pesta (Florida State University) discussed his work on translational criminology, a concept which he defined as being ‘concerned with how knowledge is created through scientific research, and then used to inform policy and practice in the criminal justice system’. He outlined recent research from the United States on best practice in partnership formation and operations. This was followed by a Q&A and an opportunity for partners to consider ideas for how to translate research into criminal justice policies and practices in Ireland.
The next session involved a fascinating restorative circle, with six international speakers who had experience of research partnerships in policing, families and open science. The speakers were:
- Prof. Liz Aston, Professor of Criminology, Edinburgh Napier University and Director, Scottish Institute for Policing Research
- Amanda Coulthard, Head of Strategy and Performance, Scottish Policing Authority
- Prof. Adam Crawford, Chair in Policing and Social Justice, University of York and Co-Director, ESRC Vulnerability and Policing Futures Research Centre
- Dr. Ioanna Grypari, Technical Project Manager for Science Policy and Innovation, OpenAIRE and Athena Research Center
- Dr. Lauren Supplee, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Planning, Research and Evaluation, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
- Chief Superintendent Ngaire Waine, Merseyside Police and Co-Director, N8PRP
Participants listened as the speakers described the purpose of these partnerships and examples of their work that had brought tangible benefits to society. Some of this involved conducting new research, while others came from building relationships and harnessing existing knowledge. They reflected on what it was like for them personally to work in such partnerships, and discussed how they overcame challenges as they worked across different organisational cultures. Contributions were documented and will form part of a final project report.
The third CORD workshop, funded by the National Open Research Forum, will take place on July 11th in person at the Department of Justice.
For more information about the CORD Partnership, contact Dr. Ian Marder on ian.marder@mu.ie.