English
Gaeilge
Atlantic Technological University Researcher named as one of 59 recipients of funding from Research Ireland’s New Foundations awards
Atlantic Technological University Researcher Isobel Cunningham along with Professor Laura Bradley McCauley, Ulster University, Magee campus, received funding as part of the New Foundations programme by Research Ireland.
Atlantic Technological University (ATU) Researcher Isobel Cunningham along with Professor Laura Bradley McCauley, Ulster University, Magee campus, received funding as part of the New Foundations programme by Research Ireland.
Isobel Cunningham’s project titled, ‘Social Enterprises and the Shared Services Model’, has been awarded €20,000 in funding from the New Foundations to support her research. The project focuses on addressing the challenges currently faced by Social Enterprises (SEs) due to limited resources and infrastructure.
Isobel commented on the achievement, “I, along with Professor Laura Bradley Mc Cauley, Ulster University, Magee campus are delighted to received New Foundations funding to continue our research in the area of social enterprises and social impact. This project continues research that was previously supported by North South Shared Island fund and will review The Shared Services Model (SSM).”
She is currently investigating “the transformative potential of the Shared Services model in driving sustainable economic development and empowering social enterprises”. This project includes strengthening ties between social enterprises to foster resource sharing and expanding their building capacity. Isobel says, “The Shared Services Model (SSM), introduced and piloted by the Donegal Local Development Company (DLDC), presents a practical approach to overcoming common challenges experienced by SEs by enabling sharing of common resources and skills”. Her research also includes examining the scalability of the SSM model in relation to economic and social challenges faced particularly within rural and cross-border social enterprises. In partnership with the Department of Rural and Community Development, Isobel’s project aims to “address this gap by examining the implementation, impact, and scalability of the SSM in SEs, with a focus on economic development and social impact”.
The results of Isobel’s work will explore the potential impact the SSM can contribute to the social and economic growth of social entrepreneurship throughout cross-border regions.
As part of Research Ireland, funding was allocated to 59 projects across 14 Higher Education Institutions in Ireland under its New Foundations programme. This programme enables researchers to develop collaborations between communities, policymakers, and governments to support projects that cover a range of challenges across Ireland and globally. The projects include addressing real-world social, environmental, economic, and health issues through exploring innovative ideas, forming cross-disciplinary relationships, and building strategic partnerships.
