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Origins & Ethos

Origins & Ethos

The University of Galway is renowned nationally and internationally for its applied social science research and activities related to lifecourse and civic engagement. Advances made by academics, staff and students enable solid partnerships to be made between the university and wider society to advance positive social change. The University of Galway is delighted to announce the establishment of the Institute for Lifecourse and Society (ILAS) as a pioneering research institute for the applied social sciences and as a flagship of the university.

 

Logo of ILAS

The ILAS was formally established, and the Institute building was opened, in 2014. Linked to an original Atlantic Philanthropies feasibility grant for a life-course building, this marked the culmination of a 6-year collaboration between three Atlantic funded centres: The Irish Centre for Social Gerontology, The Centre for Disability Law and Policy and The UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre. There are now nine constituent ILAS centres and units, representing different disciplines, a diverse range of methodologies and different populations of interest.

  • Centre for Disability Law and Public Policy (CDLP)
  • Community Engaged Research in Action (CORA)
  • Community Knowledge Initiative (CKI)
  • Health Economics and Policy Analysis Centre (HEPAC)
  • Irish Centre for Social Gerontology (ICSG)
  • Irish Centre for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Research (ICAN)
  • PPI Ignite Network
  • Speech and Language Therapy
  • UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre (UNCFRC)

The mission of ILAS is to contribute scientific and practical awareness of human capacity and potential across the lifecourse thereby impacting positively on knowledge, attitudes, policy and practice. ILAS brings together existing work in relation to targeted populations, such as older persons, children and families, and persons with disabilities into one domain of research, teaching and policy. Supported by the Atlantic Philanthropies, the Institute works in partnership with a diverse range of communities towards the development of positive social change and policy development from cradle to grave.

 

Image of ILAS

The core function of the Institute is the pursuit of interdisciplinary research in the social sciences by creatively integrating the rich and diverse intellectual resources from within the University and beyond. The four broadly conceived thematic interests of the Institute are:

  • Life Transitions & Human Flourishing
  • Intergenerational Relations
  • Social Health & Wellbeing
  • Civic Engagement & Participation

To realise this mission, ILAS has a central focus on the life-course. This captures our interest in how individuals and groups, from potentially marginalised sections of the population, can participate as full members of our society throughout their lives. ILAS possesses four work strands on research, community engagement, practice and education, and policy. These strands harness a life-course perspective (the middle ring) to explore and support the experiences of potentially marginalised groups in six strategic focus areas.