Cut-off button for children’s smartphones and robots to collect litter: Ideas from the Irish public on how to create a better future

Remote cut-off buttons for smartphones and computers for children; the use of robots to collect litter; tools to incentivise positivity on social media.

They are just a handful of the 18,000 ideas submitted by the Irish public for creating a better society on foot of a national “brainstorm” competition.

The campaign asked people last year to submit research ideas based on an open-ended question: “Tell us your idea for what researchers in Ireland should explore to create a better future?”.

From science, the environment, health and education to poverty, the arts, diversity, and inclusion — all ideas submitted will provide researchers with inspiration to make a better future for Ireland.

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The resulting submissions aim to provide researchers with inspiration on ideas on the environment, mental health, food and sustainable and green living, to housing, health, the arts, digital challenges, learning and development and nurturing community.

All ideas submitted by people of all ages during 2021 were considered by an independent expert committee.

The outputs from campaign are being integrated into the Government’s new national research and innovation strategy Impact 2030, and will be used to inform other initiatives.

Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris, who published outcomes from Creating Our Future campaign on Friday, said the initiative was aimed at “democratising research”.

“The campaign was launched to bring research and the public together; to unite everyone in a shared project to allow us to better understand how research can work for the Irish public and shape a better Ireland,” he said.

“We wanted to open a discussion to everyone, to discover what was important to people, to find out what they would like to explore to create a better future for all.

“Everyone can have a good idea; the campaign was open to everyone, and I am glad to say that we received research ideas from every county in the country,” he said.

He said an expert committee report, which has analysed the submissions, paints an interesting picture of the thoughts and concerns of the Irish public at a unique point in time.

Their findings, alongside all the submissions, can be viewed online in a “digital book of inspiration”.

Mr Harris said the database of ideas will help inspire future research in Ireland.

“The research ideas have already been aligned with a number of ongoing and upcoming programmes and will inform research through a variety of initiatives over the coming years.

The campaign ran over five months from July to December 2021, when people of all ages made submissions through an online portal and various in-person events, including roadshows and group brainstorms.

The expert committee which examined the ideas — chaired by Professor Linda Hogan, Trinity College Dublin — has made a number of key recommendations. They include:

* Solutions for the future cannot be developed in silos — researchers should explore ways to live within our planetary boundaries with integrated sustainable solutions;

* Accelerated research efforts are required in mental health and infectious diseases to improve quality of life and strengthen Ireland’s resilience in the face of future disruptions;

* Researchers should design, implement, and evaluate bespoke Irish solutions for services and infrastructure (from housing to transport and energy). These efforts should account for our unique geography, society, and heritage so that they benefit all;

* Irish research needs to be at the cutting edge of emerging digital technologies that improve people’s lives, increase public trust, and make for a more inclusive and fair society’

* Research is required to harness the power of communities to generate local and systemic change in Ireland (from green initiatives to education and the future of work).

The database of submissions can be viewed here: https://creatingourfuture.ie/the-ideas/