Child policy research without borders

The Social Research Unit is among child policy research centres in Dublin this week for the latest meeting of a network bringing international perspective to the problems of child poverty, child abuse and neglect.

The International Network of Child Policy Research Centres was set up after an exploratory gathering at the Chapin Hall Center for Children in Chicago in 2001.
 
The Unit has had connections with the Chicago centre since the 1990s. Other participants come from Brazil, India, Ireland, Israel, Jordan, Korea, Northern Ireland, Norway, South Africa and the US. On the agenda are discussions about prevention and early intervention, youth policy, assessing the impact of research on policy and evaluating complex community-based initiatives.
 
Previous collaborations have produced two Oxford University Press books, giving cross-national perspectives on research utilisation and residential care. But they are not the goal: the founding objective was to create a space for peer learning unhindered by political borders.