News

The School of Political Science and Sociology, University of Galway, is delighted to celebrate a significant achievement by Dr Carmel Devaney, Senior Lecturer in the School and Scientific Coordinator of SUPAR - Supporting Parents to Protect Children, following the award of €4.24 million in Horizon Europe funding for the project. SUPAR is a new Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Network coordinated by University of Galway.

Speaking about SUPAR, Dr Carmel Devaney, said: "I’m delighted that the Supporting Parents to Protect Children (SUPAR) Doctoral Network will commence on 1 January 2027. SUPAR is particularly significant as the first Doctoral Network to focus specifically on supporting parents to protect children. I am fortunate to be collaborating with colleagues from across Europe to advance knowledge on how best to protect children and promote their wellbeing by supporting parents and strengthening parenting capacity."

The €4.24 million project will bring together an international consortium of universities, public bodies and organisations across Europe to advance research into parenting support, child protection and welfare, family support and child wellbeing. This work is especially timely given the complex challenges facing parents, children and young people today.
 
Over 48 months, SUPAR will support the training of 14 doctoral researchers, creating new opportunities for interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral research and collaboration. University of Galway will lead the consortium, with partners spanning Ireland, Spain, Portugal, the UK, Serbia and Norway.

The project will place a strong emphasis on co-produced research, lived experience and translating research into policy and practice, with the ambition of strengthening how parenting support can contribute to protecting children and promoting their wellbeing.

Congratulations to Carmel and the full SUPAR team across the international consortium.