Press Release: UNIC Strategy Forum

The Engaged Research Strategy Forum brings together University colleagues and City Partners from across eight European Cities for a series of workshops that will inform the development a Joint Declaration on Engaged Research. The Strategy Forum programme involves a series of events online 18-19 January 2022 and in-person in Cork, Ireland in March of 2022, and is part of a UNIC for Engaged Research (UNIC4ER) initiative. A Showcase of Engaged Research Practices and Panel Discussion will be held online on January 19th from 1230 – 1430 (CET) which is open for all to attend.

Engaged Research is an umbrella term or overarching guiding principle for research approaches that have a common interest in collaborative inquiry with community partners and stakeholders for societal relevance and impact. Increasingly, EU research funding calls involve Engaged Research. The UNIC4ER initiative is developing a new model for European inter‐institutional research infrastructure that can interrogate and address societal issues confronting post‐industrial urban centres. It integrates with wider work of the UNIC European University and CityLabs model for collaboratively tackling challenges across health and wellbeing; urban resilience and transformation; diversity and inclusion; aging populations; and digital transition.

January’s workshops will begin a consultative process for co-producing a common understanding of Engaged Research across UNIC Universities and City Stakeholders, as the foundation for the Joint Declaration on Engaged Research. In addition, a common strategy and supportive systems are being developed to involve and engage citizens, civil society, public & city authorities and academia in collaborative research and innovation initiatives.