In December 2024, the Criminal justice Open Research Dialogue (CORD) Partnership published two documents outlining the work undertaken by the group to embed a culture of open research in criminal justice in Ireland.
First, 58 CORD partners representing 32 organisations published an article ‘Embedding a culture of interdisciplinary open research in criminal justice: A new partnership for Ireland‘ in the Irish Probation Journal (Vol. 21). With authors working across Ireland’s research and criminal justice sectors, the article states how they define a ‘culture of open research’ and outlines the principles and purpose of the CORD Partnership.
The article further considers the ‘open research needs’ of Irish criminal justice, including topics such as collecting and using data, prejudice and social division, privacy in criminal justice, public attitudes and policymaking, the future of Irish criminal justice, criminal justice practices, and young people.
Read and download CORD’s article ‘Embedding a culture of interdisciplinary open research in criminal justice: A new partnership for Ireland‘.
The remainder of Vol. 21 of the Irish Probation Journal, a 21st anniversary special edition, can be accessed online.
Second, Dr Ian Marder (Associate Professor in Criminology, Maynooth University and Chair of the CORD Partnership Implementation Group) published a working paper ‘Learning from Crime and Policing Research Partnerships in England and Scotland‘ based on recent visits to a number of research centres and partnerships in the UK. The working paper describes the funding, governance, administration, small grants schemes and fellowships of those groups, providing five recommendations regarding the development of co-produced research in Irish criminal justice. Its findings were based on discussions with colleagues at the N8 Policing Research Partnership and Vulnerability and Policing Futures Research Centre in England, and the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice and Scottish Institute for Policing Research in Scotland.
Read and download ‘Learning from Crime and Policing Research Partnerships in England and Scotland‘ from the Maynooth University website.
Ian also contributed to a Maynooth University Social Sciences Institute workshop series exploring research for policy in Ireland, organised by Professor Mark Boyle and Seán Ó Foghlú. Ian and Ben Ryan (Assistant Secretary General, Department of Justice) discussed their work together on restorative justice and the development of open research in criminal justice, including through CORD.
Watch the workshop online on the Maynooth University’s YouTube channel.
The CORD Partnership has received funding from Ireland’s National Open Research Forum (NORF) under the 2023 Open Research Fund.
