The Voluntary Sector Studies Network, ARK, Queen’s University Belfast and Ulster University, supported by Volunteer Now and NICVA, are delighted to jointly host a symposium to explore pathways to collaborating on voluntary and community sector (VCS) research in Northern Ireland.

Research within and about the voluntary and community sector springs up in many different settings and across a range of disciplines. Some of the challenges faced by academic and voluntary and community sector colleagues in Northern Ireland are how to retain past expertise on voluntary and community sector research, how to collate existing knowledge and how to connect with others interested in voluntary and community sector centred research.

Key Aims of this Event will be:

• To strengthen sustainable relationships between academic researchers and practitioners in the voluntary and community sector in Northern Ireland.
• To recognise and map out the breadth of multi-disciplinary approaches to voluntary and community sector research in differing fields across the voluntary and community sector, such as health and social care, community development, youth, environment, arts, equality, employment, sports, social enterprise, housing, and social policy.
• To consider models of Voluntary Sector Research Partnerships.
• To identify gaps and inform a future research agenda for Voluntary and Community Sector Research in Northern Ireland.