Periodic Reporting for period 1 - DOROTHY (DevelOp interdisciplinaRy apprOaches to healTH crises collaborativelY’)
Reporting period: 2021-09-01 to 2023-08-31
Public health is defined as “the art and science of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts of society” (Acheson 1988; WHO). The public health approach is to promote better health and wellbeing in society as a whole, preventing illness through working across sectors. Challenges to public health include, but are not limited to, economic crises, inequalities, ageing populations, increasing levels of infectious and noncommunicable diseases and mental health problems, migration and urbanisation, and environmental damage and climate change. To this end, research is key to finding solutions to public health crises.
The COVID-19 pandemic naturally focused the attention of governments and state agencies on research addressing the medical and technical aspects of the pandemic. Aiming to complement these efforts with a more holistic and long-term strategy, the MSCA DOROTHY COFUND will train, and launch the careers of, future experts able to tackle public health crises not only as medical problems but also as multi-faceted societal challenges, which require solid understanding of how best to effect behavioural, social and system-level change in response to public health crises. An international, intersectoral and interdisciplinary perspective is needed to resolve such crises. For example, concerted research efforts are needed to effectively mitigate the rapid spread of infections and to minimise direct and indirect impacts on individuals and communities, through effective health communication and community engagement. In addition to the challenges posed by the spread of infectious diseases, environmentally driven public health crises are increasingly a concern in our societies, for example respiratory illness caused by particulates in the air we breathe, or issues related to water pollution. DOROTHY fellows will conduct research into some of the most pressing societal challenges of our times.
DOROTHY COFUND aims to:
• Support researchers from a variety of disciplines to conduct and manage research projects that have strong relevance to public health crises.
• Create a critical mass of well-networked experts, from all disciplinary areas, who will be fully able to engage with the Irish and EU innovation ecosystem, through the set-up of an innovative multidisciplinary research and training platform. These individuals will be trained to tackle future public health crises in ways that will lead to positive societal impact.
• Support fellows’ career development, through an innovative multidisciplinary research and training platform, supervision and mentoring, and prepare them for future career opportunities, tackling future public health crises.
• Promote the dissemination and communication of impactful research beyond traditional academic channels, targeting policymakers and the population at large, with the objective of contributing to resourceful and resilient societies.
• Pioneer an innovative multidisciplinary approach to the way the complex and broad-ranging phenomena underlying public health crises are understood and tackled, with solutions emerging from cooperation between disciplines, sectors and research areas.
The COVID-19 pandemic naturally focused the attention of governments and state agencies on research addressing the medical and technical aspects of the pandemic. Aiming to complement these efforts with a more holistic and long-term strategy, the MSCA DOROTHY COFUND will train, and launch the careers of, future experts able to tackle public health crises not only as medical problems but also as multi-faceted societal challenges, which require solid understanding of how best to effect behavioural, social and system-level change in response to public health crises. An international, intersectoral and interdisciplinary perspective is needed to resolve such crises. For example, concerted research efforts are needed to effectively mitigate the rapid spread of infections and to minimise direct and indirect impacts on individuals and communities, through effective health communication and community engagement. In addition to the challenges posed by the spread of infectious diseases, environmentally driven public health crises are increasingly a concern in our societies, for example respiratory illness caused by particulates in the air we breathe, or issues related to water pollution. DOROTHY fellows will conduct research into some of the most pressing societal challenges of our times.
DOROTHY COFUND aims to:
• Support researchers from a variety of disciplines to conduct and manage research projects that have strong relevance to public health crises.
• Create a critical mass of well-networked experts, from all disciplinary areas, who will be fully able to engage with the Irish and EU innovation ecosystem, through the set-up of an innovative multidisciplinary research and training platform. These individuals will be trained to tackle future public health crises in ways that will lead to positive societal impact.
• Support fellows’ career development, through an innovative multidisciplinary research and training platform, supervision and mentoring, and prepare them for future career opportunities, tackling future public health crises.
• Promote the dissemination and communication of impactful research beyond traditional academic channels, targeting policymakers and the population at large, with the objective of contributing to resourceful and resilient societies.
• Pioneer an innovative multidisciplinary approach to the way the complex and broad-ranging phenomena underlying public health crises are understood and tackled, with solutions emerging from cooperation between disciplines, sectors and research areas.
The programme was officially launched February 2022 and included a live webinar with high profile speakers.
To promote the launch of the DOROTHY COFUND programme and Call 1, a comprehensive communication and promotion campaign was developed and implemented. Invitations were issued to high profile scientific experts in public health, arts and humanities and asked if they would be willing to speak at the DOROTHY COFUND launch event. Invitations were also forwarded to relevant stakeholders, institutional research officers and members of the DOROTHY’s management bodies.
The call was opened 23 March until 23 May 2022. An information webinar for applicants was organised prior to the opening. The call was further promoted on Euraxess and other prominent social media forums. The DOROTHY Twitter, LinkedIn and website was also created to create awareness of the call opening. The programme's co-funders also promoted the call and programme through their inhouse social media channels.
Call documentation was prepared and were posted on the DOROTHY website and Irish Research Council DOROTHY microsite. Eight awards were made following the call 1 process and six awardees had all commenced the fellowship by 2 October 2023.
The communication campaign began early February 2023 as part of call 2. An online live webinar for applicants and research offices was held prior to the call opening. The webinar was advertised widely in Ireland through the Irish Research Council’s mailing lists to research offices in all higher education institutions (HEIs), research performing organisation (RPOs) and the MSCA NCPs network. Information regarding the DOROTHY programme in relation to opening of the call was further promoted through a collaboration with the Irish Marie Skłodowska-Curie (MSCA) office. A 2-minute video was produced in February 2023 which featured the DOROTHY Programme Manager and included information on the programme. The video was posted on the DOROTHY website, Twitter feed and LinkedIn sites. It has also been included on the Irish Research Council’s microsite for DOROTHY
https://dorothy.ie/2023/05/24/dorothy-in-two-minutes/(opens in new window)
Call 2 opened 1 March 2023 and closed 21 June 2023. The call opening time was extended to allow for more promotion of the call and allow candidates to source suitable supervisors. Outcomes are expected at the end of November 2023 with a start date of quarter 1 2024.
To promote the launch of the DOROTHY COFUND programme and Call 1, a comprehensive communication and promotion campaign was developed and implemented. Invitations were issued to high profile scientific experts in public health, arts and humanities and asked if they would be willing to speak at the DOROTHY COFUND launch event. Invitations were also forwarded to relevant stakeholders, institutional research officers and members of the DOROTHY’s management bodies.
The call was opened 23 March until 23 May 2022. An information webinar for applicants was organised prior to the opening. The call was further promoted on Euraxess and other prominent social media forums. The DOROTHY Twitter, LinkedIn and website was also created to create awareness of the call opening. The programme's co-funders also promoted the call and programme through their inhouse social media channels.
Call documentation was prepared and were posted on the DOROTHY website and Irish Research Council DOROTHY microsite. Eight awards were made following the call 1 process and six awardees had all commenced the fellowship by 2 October 2023.
The communication campaign began early February 2023 as part of call 2. An online live webinar for applicants and research offices was held prior to the call opening. The webinar was advertised widely in Ireland through the Irish Research Council’s mailing lists to research offices in all higher education institutions (HEIs), research performing organisation (RPOs) and the MSCA NCPs network. Information regarding the DOROTHY programme in relation to opening of the call was further promoted through a collaboration with the Irish Marie Skłodowska-Curie (MSCA) office. A 2-minute video was produced in February 2023 which featured the DOROTHY Programme Manager and included information on the programme. The video was posted on the DOROTHY website, Twitter feed and LinkedIn sites. It has also been included on the Irish Research Council’s microsite for DOROTHY
https://dorothy.ie/2023/05/24/dorothy-in-two-minutes/(opens in new window)
Call 2 opened 1 March 2023 and closed 21 June 2023. The call opening time was extended to allow for more promotion of the call and allow candidates to source suitable supervisors. Outcomes are expected at the end of November 2023 with a start date of quarter 1 2024.
The aims of the DOROTHY programme are to recruit excellent researchers from a variety of disciplines to conduct and manage research projects that have strong relevance to public health crises.
The programme has recruited 6 researchers from all disciplinary backgrounds provided that the projects relate to public health crises.
The fellows have already completed the programme's first training event, held in Dublin 3-5 October 2023. Fellows were provided with training on public engagement, digital communication and project exploitation. The training will provide the fellows with knowledge that will assist in their respective project aims which are to effectively become adept at communicating their research findings to a wide array of relevant stakeholders, including policymakers and the population at large.
The fellows have started to produce impacts on their research. The list below highlights just some of the activities that the fellows have participated in. The activities include;
-Participation in the MSCA Science-Policy Pitch Competition 2023, Toledo, Spain.
-Secured a Green Campus Living Laboratory fund within their respective institute.
-Hosting a public patient involvement (PPI) event within their main institute entitled 'Dance and the brain in Parkinson’s: Research lab visit and discussion'. This involved bringing several small groups at a time on a tour of the research laboratories and a seminar
-Field work data gathering in France (gathering data on bats) and Kenya (gathering data on people living with dementia)
-Presentations to their academic peers within the outgoing and main host institutes.
-'Brainstorm' National television Network 'RTE' broadcast '5 tips to save money on your heating this winter'
The programme has recruited 6 researchers from all disciplinary backgrounds provided that the projects relate to public health crises.
The fellows have already completed the programme's first training event, held in Dublin 3-5 October 2023. Fellows were provided with training on public engagement, digital communication and project exploitation. The training will provide the fellows with knowledge that will assist in their respective project aims which are to effectively become adept at communicating their research findings to a wide array of relevant stakeholders, including policymakers and the population at large.
The fellows have started to produce impacts on their research. The list below highlights just some of the activities that the fellows have participated in. The activities include;
-Participation in the MSCA Science-Policy Pitch Competition 2023, Toledo, Spain.
-Secured a Green Campus Living Laboratory fund within their respective institute.
-Hosting a public patient involvement (PPI) event within their main institute entitled 'Dance and the brain in Parkinson’s: Research lab visit and discussion'. This involved bringing several small groups at a time on a tour of the research laboratories and a seminar
-Field work data gathering in France (gathering data on bats) and Kenya (gathering data on people living with dementia)
-Presentations to their academic peers within the outgoing and main host institutes.
-'Brainstorm' National television Network 'RTE' broadcast '5 tips to save money on your heating this winter'