NIRPN January 2026 Online Event
The Northern Ireland Research Professionals Network (NIRPN) recently delivered its first online event, developed in response to strong member interest in creating more opportunities to connect, share practice and engage with developments across Northern Ireland’s research and innovation landscape.
The session opened with a welcome from Chris Browne, Head of Research Strategy and Policy at Queen’s University Belfast, who highlighted the importance of the network in strengthening connections for research managers and administrators across the region. This was followed by network updates delivered by members of the NIRPN Organising Committee, with a particular focus on the Organisational Insight Exchange Programme. The main session then featured presentations from Kara Bailie and Tim Brundle discussing the Queen’s- and Ulster-led City and Growth Deal Projects.
Network Update
Members of the Organising Committee, Holly Clawson and Lynda Mahon (Queen’s University Belfast), provided a short update on the Organisational Insight Exchange Programme (OIEP), sharing reflections from last year’s pilot and outlining plans for the latest iteration. Developed in response to member feedback seeking more opportunities for peer-to-peer networking and engagement, OIEP offers a flexible, low-commitment way for research and innovation professionals to gain insight into other organisations, share practice and explore career development. Expressions of interest for the 2026 programme are now closed, reflecting strong engagement from across the membership.
Members were also updated on plans for an in-person event on the ‘Practical Use of AI for Research Managers and Administrators’, to be held at Ulster University’s Coleraine campus (further information will be communicated in due course).
Universities, City Deals and the role of research professionals
The main session then featured presentations from Kara Bailie, Deputy Director of Strategic Programmes at Queen’s University Belfast, and Tim Brundle, Director of Research and Innovation at Ulster University, who explored their respective City and Growth Deal projects and what these large-scale, long-term investments mean for research and innovation professionals.
Presentations highlighted that City Deals are not grants, but long-term partnerships with significant accountability for outcomes. Universities are underwriting major innovation infrastructure and taking on responsibility for delivering sustained economic and societal impact, often over decades.
Kara Bailie reflected on how innovation centres operate differently from traditional academic environments, requiring closer engagement with industry, different timescales, and a focus on partner success rather than institutional outputs alone. Collaboration across universities, industry, government and communities was identified as central to achieving these ambitions.
Ciarán Prunty, Head of Strategy Development provided an overview of the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Centre (AMIC), showing how City Deal investment is enabling new, industry-facing ways of working at scale. Building on existing strengths, AMIC brings together engineers, researchers, and industry partners to tackle manufacturing challenges through applied research, skills development, and collaborative R&D, supported by research development and management professionals across the network.
Tim Brundle reflected on more than a decade of involvement in City Deals, framing them as the largest investment in innovation in Northern Ireland’s history. In the region of £1.3bn in public funding and significant additional private and institutional investment, City Deals represent a long-term, collaborative commitment to regional transformation.
He outlined six key areas in which City Deals will challenge research professionals to adapt:
Governance: shifting from project-based oversight to portfolio-level governance over decades
Sustainability: ensuring long-term economic and societal value beyond capital investment
Incentivising outcomes: aligning institutional and individual incentives with impact and collaboration
Risk management: addressing delivery, financial, reputational and sustainability risks collectively at scale
Collaboration: strengthening cross-institutional and cross-functional working
Research culture: embedding public value, partnership working and delivery discipline
Drawing on international examples, he stressed that capital investment alone does not create impact. Leadership credibility, focus, institutional form and dedicated commercialisation capacity were identified as critical success factors.
Discussion and Reflection
The event concluded with a discussion on collaboration, evidence, and visibility. Contributors noted that Northern Ireland is well networked, while acknowledging that some connections remain surface-level. Participants emphasised the importance of creating environments where people feel empowered to collaborate, experiment, and learn - even when outcomes are uncertain.
Questions also explored how impact is measured and communicated, both locally and internationally. While formal reporting frameworks exist, speakers highlighted opportunities to make outcomes more visible and to use data and infrastructure as tools for building confidence in international engagement.
NIRPN continues to provide a valuable forum for these conversations, with members expressing interest in more online sessions. Members are invited to suggest topics they would like explored, helping shape future discussions.