Celebrating the Launch of the First Local Soil Biodiversity Network: The Irish Soil Biodiversity Research Network (ISBRN)
By Dr Tara Dirilgen, Founder ISBRN | Assistant Professor of Environmental Biology & Sustainability, Maynooth University
ISBRN members at network launch meeting 26 June 2024
The Irish Soil Biodiversity Research Network (ISBRN) was officially launched on 26th June 2024. It was a great success, thanks to the attendees presence and active participation throughout the day. Fifteen people from across 8 Institutions (AFBI, DCU, MU, UCC, UCD, UG, Teagasc and TUD) participated in showcasing their research and contributing to discussion topics (network mission and scope; project capture; funding landscape and opportunities; future direction of ISBRN). The main take home was the enthusiasm and agreement in the timely nature, and need for such a network in Ireland.
In the hope that it will encourage others to establish their own local network, I share below some background to how the network came about and learnings from the organisation of the first meeting.
Inspiration
It was when I joined the Irish Pollinator Research Network (IPRN) that I realised, first hand, the value of having and being a part of such a network. IPRN exemplified how openness, transparency, collegiality and collaboration can be at the forefront of the science we do. A reality often hindered by competition, especially if in the same research field/area (and in such a small country!).
Motivation
This was twofold and a couple of years in the making; the personal motivation and the scientific motivation. The personal piece is that I was, at the time, transitioning into an independent researcher, and as a postdoctoral fellow felt that I was out of the loop re: (i) knowing who was who and what they did (yes, even in a country the size of Ireland), and on the flip side (ii) realising that I was not included in some relevant communications (this likely a result of not being a PI/Research Group Leader at the time). The scientific motivation was purely aspirational: by bringing all researchers together we could collaborate but more importantly, we could collectively, make better progress and strides in furthering our knowledge of soil biodiversity.
The final push (so perhaps three-fold) came during the 3rd GSB conference in Dublin, where Dr. Monica Farfan (past GSBI Executive Director) pitched to us the idea of local networks by country and GSBI’s support for such an initiative.
Realization
This took a bit of work and benefited from having an organising team for the first meeting (thank you to Dr. Grace Hoysted and Dr. Fiona Walsh for jumping on board). As the main aim was to capture all researchers across the island of Ireland, we made sure to advertise and circulate as widely as possible. The workshop style discussion of pre-set topics enabled us to capture all opinions and ideas.
What worked:
· Meeting agenda and format (elevator pitches + workshop style brainstorming)
· Promotion of event and network using many channels within and beyond Ireland. This had a two-fold effect of promoting the network and ensuring a wide reach. We had more member sign ups and PIs than anticipated - positively reinforcing the need for such a network
· Having some funding to support the meeting e.g. catering, workshop supplies, etc
What could be improved:
· Having an external expert facilitator/mediator of the discussion topics (although, I like to think I did as good a job as possible having to put on many hats!)
· Allocating sufficient time shortly after the meeting to collate the discussions. While still fresh in everyone’s minds.
Immediate Outputs
· The next meeting will be hosted by University of Galway (UG), date to be set for 2025. This and all subsequent annual meetings will bring together PIs and research group members
· Shared excel file with ISBRN members containing collated discussion topics and summary action table. This allows input by all and opportunity to add initials to actions they would like to lead or contribute to.
· Summary doc of meeting and list of PIs, research area and contact info, for circulation.
With thanks to; colleagues who supported the idea from the very beginning (OS, TC, TB, FB), GSBI for their encouragement and support in realization, lab members for their assistance with post-meeting collation, Soil Science Society of Ireland for their support, and Maynooth University for providing funding to host the first meeting (under the Network and Collaboration Support fund).
ISBRN is for all researchers based in the Island of Ireland and carrying out research in the area of soil biodiversity. To become a network member fill out this form here.
Send an email to the GSBI (info@globalsoilbiodiversity.org) if you would like a copy of templates from the ISBRN as a starting point for creating your own local network.
