Embedding a Culture of Interdisciplinary Open Research in Ireland’s Criminal Justice Sector
Dr Ian Marder, Maynooth University
Dr Ian Marder (end of front row on the right) and members of the Criminal justice Open Research Dialogue (CORD) Partnership launched in Maynooth on 17 January 2024. Photo credit: Daniel Bălteanu
Lead investigator: Dr. Ian D. Marder, Assistant Professor in Criminology Maynooth University School of Law and Criminology ian.marder@mu.ie
Lead administrative institution: Maynooth University School of Law and Criminology
Funding call: Open Research Fund 2023. Strand II Open Research Stimulus
National Action Plan theme: Theme 1: Embedding a culture of open research
Governance: Consortium: Maynooth University, Dublin City University, South East Technological University, University of Limerick
Overview of the project: The project involves the establishment of the Criminal justice Open Research Dialogue (CORD) Partnership. The CORD Partnership includes representatives from partner organisations across research, criminal justice policymaking, agencies and oversight bodies, non-state justice services, civil society and advocacy groups, and the broader research ecosystem. In 2024, partners will meet three times at workshops that use restorative practices and design thinking approaches to establish the principles, purposes, priorities and actions as we seek to embed a culture of interdisciplinary open research in criminal justice in Ireland.
Resources and Outputs
In December 2024, the 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.
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.
For more information, read the news item ‘CORD Partnership publishes Two Documents on Embedding Open Research in Irish Criminal Justice‘.
In January 2025, the CORD Partnership published ‘An Agenda for the CORD Partnership, 2025-2026‘, which outlines several actions that the partnership will lead in the coming years to embed a culture of interdisciplinary open research in criminal justice in Ireland.
Learn more about the work involved in producing the Agenda.
The CORD Partnership’s research assistant, Patrice McCormack, also undertook a scoping review of the literature exploring criminal justice research partnerships, which is currently under review.
