Parenting support project that informed national policy wins 2025 UCD Research Impact Competition

30 January 2026

^{Professor Niamh Moore Cherry, College Principal, College of Social Sciences and Law; Professor Orla Doyle, overall winner of the 2025 UCD Research Impact Competition; and Professor Kate Robson Brown, UCD Vice-President for Research, Innovation and Impact}

A project promoting enhanced parenting support within disadvantaged communities has won the 2025 UCD Research Impact Case Study Competition.

‘Preparing for Life: changing children’s lives through early parenting support’ is led by (opens in a new window)Professor Orla Doyle from the UCD School of Economics and the UCD Geary Institute for Public Policy. 

For 18 years, Professor Doyle has carried out one of Ireland’s longest-running randomised controlled trials, a prenatal-to-school-entry programme developed in disadvantaged Dublin communities to reduce inequalities in child development. 

Children from disadvantaged backgrounds face higher risks of poor health, education, and employment. As the brain is particularly malleable from pregnancy to age three, early intervention is crucial.

Beginning in 2008, 233 pregnant women within disadvantaged Dublin communities were randomly assigned to either a low- or high-support group. Both received basic developmental supports, but the high-support group participated in home visits, baby massage classes, and group parenting sessions.

By the time they turned 14, children in the high-support group showed better cognitive functioning, working memory, attention, and health outcomes. The results demonstrate that early, sustained support for parents can permanently alter life trajectories.

Preparing for Life (PFL)’s findings informed First 5: A Whole-of-Government Strategy for Babies, Young Children and their Families, and contributed to government investment of over €40 million in childhood and family support initiatives.

They also informed Ireland’s National Home Visiting Programme. With Tusla’s support, PFL has been rolled out to ten additional communities nationwide. 

Professor Doyle and her team were among 12 winners and finalists at this year’s competition, which encourages UCD researchers of all disciplines to showcase how their work has made a positive difference on wider society.

The 2025 UCD Research Impact Case Study Competition winners and finalists are:

Overall Winner

• (opens in a new window)Professor Orla Doyle, UCD School of Economics & UCD Geary Institute for Public Policy – Preparing for Life: Changing children’s life course through an early life parenting programme

Policy Impact Winner (new category for 2025)

• Professor Ellen Crushell, UCD School of Medicine & Children’s Health Ireland – Glycerol intoxication syndrome in young children following consumption of slush ice drinks

Engaged Research Winner

• (opens in a new window)Dr. Páraic Kerrigan and (opens in a new window)Dr. Claire McGuinness, UCD School of Information and Communication Studies – Strengthening Public Library Resistance Against Far-Right Agitation

Finalists

• (opens in a new window)Dr Mark Coen, UCD Sutherland School of Law – Changing the law to protect privately held records relating to Ireland’s abusive institutions
  
  
• (opens in a new window)Dr Stefan Müller, UCD School of Politics and International Relations – Irish Polling Indicator: turning numbers into insight for society and policymakers
  
  
• (opens in a new window)Dr Mark Pickering, UCD School of Medicine and UCD Earth Institute – Democratising discovery: open, accessible imaging and microscopy tools for all
  
  
• (opens in a new window)Dr Barry J. McMahon, UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science & UCD Earth Institute – Declines in European birds: why uncomfortable conversations about predators are necessary
  
  
• (opens in a new window)Dr Aoife De Brún, UCD School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Systems – Improving quality and patient safety in our healthcare system
  
  
• (opens in a new window)Dr Daniel McCrum, UCD School of Civil Engineering – Building homes smarter, faster and greener: Modern Methods of Construction
  
  
• (opens in a new window)Dr Ungku Norani Sonet, (opens in a new window)Dr Ítalo Sousa de Sena, (opens in a new window)Dr Aura-Luciana Istrate, and (opens in a new window)Professor Francesco Pilla, UCD School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy – From play to policy: a new way for children to reimagine traffic safety using Minecraft
  
  
• (opens in a new window)AI2Peat team, (opens in a new window)CeADAR, UCD School of Computer Science, UCD School of Earth Sciences and (opens in a new window)iCRAG – AI2Peat: the All-Ireland AI platform powering smarter peatland management
  
  
• (opens in a new window)Professor Patricia B Maguire and Research Scientist Vanessa Carvalho, UCD School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science – Humanising the algorithm: where data meets compassion to fight pneumonia and sepsis

New to the competition this year was the Images of Research Competition, which invited researchers to creatively communicate their work through visual storytelling. 

The overall winner of the Images of Research Competition was (opens in a new window)Dr Katherine Fama from the UCD School of English, Drama and Film, with an image titled ‘Reclaimed & Reimagined: Later-Life Women in the Archive’. All winning and shortlisted entries can be viewed on the UCD Research website.

“These awards recognise not only excellent research, but research that actively engages with society and delivers tangible benefits, said Professor Kate Robson Brown, UCD Vice-President for Research, Innovation and Impact.

“These case studies demonstrate how UCD researchers are contributing to policy, practice, public understanding and knowledge in meaningful and lasting ways.”

Details of the next round of the UCD Research Impact Case Study Competition will be announced in spring 2026.

By: Rebecca Hastings, Digital Journalist, UCD University Relations

To contact the UCD News & Content Team, email: newsdesk@ucd.ie