What is your role within ARK?
I am Co-director of ARK based at Queen’s University Belfast, and I work jointly with Professor Ann Marie Gray (ARK Co-director at Ulster University). We collaborate with all members of the ARK team to plan activities, events and resources, as well as acting as a central point of contact. I also direct the Northern Ireland Life and Times (NILT) survey, which every year asks 1,200 adults about the issues affecting their lives. I am involved in all aspects of the survey, such as obtaining funding, collaborating with funders and colleagues to design the questions, analysing the data, and maintaining the website.
What do you most enjoy about your role in ARK?
I am naturally very curious, and so I love the variety of ARK’s activities. Every year, the range of topics covered in NILT changes, and it is really interesting, and challenging, to research and design relevant questions. Knowing that ARK’s work is timely and relevant to policy makers, practitioners, academics is also exciting. I enjoy working as part of a team, whether this is with other members of ARK, or with colleagues within Queen’s University Belfast and Ulster University, as well as in other organisations.
As a Co-Director in ARK, what is the focus of your research?
Producing evidence to inform public and policy debate is key to all of ARK’s work. ARK runs three surveys reflecting the views of adults, 16 year olds, and 10-11 year olds. My research focuses on making sure that these voices can be heard. Therefore, I spend most of my time recording, analysing and disseminating data on public attitudes. Another area of my research is men’s health. Since 2020, I have produced a series of reports (alongside Dr Erin Early) which collated key statistics on men’s health across the island of Ireland (https://www.ark.ac.uk/ARK/projects/Mens_Health). These are used extensively by government, policy makers and voluntary/community groups. For example, the reports have been used to inform the revised Healthy Ireland Men Action Plan in the Republic of Ireland. Voluntary groups use the data to guide their programmes and funding applications. The most recent reports underpinned the theme of the 2024 Men’s Health Week: Know your numbers.
Find out more about Dr Devine’s work: https://pure.qub.ac.uk/en/persons/paula-devine
