UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre (UNCFRC)
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Welcome to the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre (UNCFRC)
The UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre is committed to improving the lives of children, young people and families through research, education and service development. We are uniquely positioned to advance theory and practice and to facilitate knowledge transfer through better connecting the worlds of research, policy and practice.
Established in 2007, the UCFRC works to create the conditions for excellent policies, services and practices that improve the lives of children, youth and families through research, education and service development. Our core focus on is on the wellbeing and rights of children, young people and their families. Expertise across a team of experienced researchers spans relevant domains including child protection and welfare, children in care, family support, rights, youth agency and development. Research undertaken is strongly connected to applied work for children and families and is relevant to a diverse range of stakeholders including service users, policymakers, politicians, service managers and front-line staff. The importance of ecological approaches to working across the life course is fundamental to understanding the life transitions, diversity of home, community and educational spaces occupied by children, youth and families. The UCFRC’s commitment to engaged research and the adoption of methodologies that emphasise voice and participation of marginalised people and communities reflects a core objective of enabling equity across the life course.
Message from the Director John Canavan
It gives me great pleasure to introduce you to the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre (UCFRC).Founded in 2007, part of the Institute for Lifecourse and Society at the University of Galway, the UCFRC is uniquely positioned to advance theory and practice and to facilitate knowledge transfer across the worlds of research, policy and practice to improve outcomes for children, young people, families and communities.
Recurring themes of interest across our work programme are: prevention and early intervention as a strategic orientation for policy and practice; family support as a policy and service paradigm; interventions that enable youth agency and development and, across all areas, a strong commitment to engaged research emphasising voice and participation. I encourage you to take a look at our website and at our Summary Strategic Plan to see in more detail the work we do.
Our Research
Our core research focus is the wellbeing and rights of children, young people and their families. We are recognised international leaders in the field of Family Support, incorporating research on prevention and early intervention and parenting support.
Framed within the operation of the prestigious UNESCO Chair on Children, Youth and Civic Engagement, our focus on Youth incorporates a body of work on mentoring, empathy and youth civic engagement. We respond to research, evaluation and planning needs of state and NGO organisations nationally and internationally across policy fields including child protection and welfare, alternative care, youth work, education, mental health and juvenile justice.
UNESCO Chair in Children, Youth & Civic Engagement
The UNESCO Chair in Children, Youth & Civic Engagement, the first in the Republic of Ireland, was awarded to Professor Pat Dolan at the National University of Ireland, Galway in 2008.
The UNESCO Chair in Children, Youth & Civic Engagement, the first in the Republic of Ireland, was awarded to Professor Pat Dolan at the National University of Ireland, Galway in 2008.The UNESCO Chairs programme, part of the UNESCO University Education and Twinning Programme, advances research, training and programme development in all of UNESCO’s fields of competence by building university networks and encouraging inter-university cooperation through the transfer of knowledge across borders. Professor Dolan conducts a programme of work within and supported by the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre (UCFRC) that spans a range of global partnerships involving universities, NGOs, international agencies and youth organisations encompassing research, education, and policy development activities.
