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Conference to discuss the role and impact of social enterprises in the sustainable development of rural and urban areas
Researchers at University College Cork are set to unveil a sustainable development index for rural and urban areas at a conference today.
The index, based on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals will be discussed at an international conference organised by UCC researchers in the National University of Ireland (NUI) in Dublin today, Thursday August 22nd.
The conference will also hear discussions around the future creation of a social impact assessment tool for social enterprises.
Led by Dr Mary O’Shaughnessy and Dr Lucas Olmedo from the Department of Food Business and Development at Cork University Business School, the conference brings together a panel of national and international experts, policymakers, and practitioners to discuss the potential transformative capacity and impact of social enterprises in wider sustainable development.
The conference will showcase the findings of two prestigious research projects awarded to UCC researchers, including the first ever Government of Ireland-NUI Postdoctoral fellowship in Rural Development awarded to Dr Lucas Olmedo and his mentor Dr Mary O'Shaughnessy on 'Mapping Social Enterprises and their Impact in Sustainable Rural Development'.
The findings from this project have been reflected in the development of a recently launched National Social Enterprise Policy 2024-2027.
Rob Nicholson, Principal Officer, Rural Strategy and Social enterprise at the Department of Community and Rural Development said: “This collaborative research has resulted in an invaluable evidence base that helped drive the development of ‘Trading for Change’, the Government’s national policy for social enterprise for the years 2024-2027. The research has helped advance a wider understanding of the role of social enterprises in Ireland, both on a sectoral as well as geographic basis, and has brought to the fore the potential policy responses to respond to the needs of social enterprise and help support the sector in its future growth.”
The conference will also present the findings from a UCC led IRC New Foundations funded project 'Assessing the Multidimensional Impact of Social Enterprises in Ireland' project, awarded to Dr Mary O'Shaughnessy, Dr Lucas Olmedo and Ms Flora Seddon. This project has established a pilot collaboration with the University of Melbourne related to a social impact assessment tool for social enterprises.
Two international keynote presentations will be delivered by Professor Richard Lang (University of Bolzano, Italy) and Professor Jo Barraket (University of Melbourne, Australia), and will also include contributions from Ireland’s Department of Rural and Community Development, Western Development Commission, Irish Local Development Network and Social Enterprise Republic of Ireland.
Dr Lucas Olmedo, postdoctoral researcher at Cork University Business School, said: “The event has had a great response from academics, practitioners and policymakers which show our dedication to transdisciplinary research on social enterprises and sustainable development. It will be a fantastic opportunity to continue with our ambitious research agenda and build further collaborations between stakeholders.”
Dr Mary O’Shaughnessy, Senior Lecturer at Cork University Business School with over 25 years of sustained research focus on rural social enterprise, expressed her delight with this international research event describing it as “another great UCC example of engaged, collaborative cross disciplinary research which at its core is about the advancement and application of knowledge that shapes a more sustainable and inclusive society”.