Who gets a seat at the table?
A detailed random multi-level approach (sortition) was used for development of a representative sample frame that could be used for the recruitment of both full members and substitutes to the Forum. This was done in accordance with available UCC student data to ensure that sample points were representative in terms of school/college spread, ensuring we had the correct number of points in different locations based on population.
Certain categories of student were excluded, including:
- Student sabbatical officers and elected student leaders
- Student journalists and others working in the media
- Student activists campaigning on the topic under discussion.
Further Reading
Student Selection Overview
Students at UCC
UCC currently hosts a diverse body of students who range in type from four-year degree students to those taking short Adult Education course and includes the Language Centre and Continuing Professional Development participants. The Forum aims to be as inclusive & diverse as possible and therefore will use Stratified Random Selection as the samping tool (see below).
Once the strata are identified, students will be selected randomly and an email invitation issued via umail. Students will have time to consider the invitation and will be referred to this website for further information.
Hard to Reach, Easy to Ignore
Research shows that the most marginalised in our societies have the least access to having their voice heard. UCC is committed to addressing that balance and through the Student Forum will identify and support access to ensure that all UCC students to address issues raised.
Report by Ruth Lightbody and Oliver Escobar on equality in engagement
Stratified Random Selection
Stratified random Selection refers to a sampling technique in which a population is divided into discrete units called strata based on similar attributes. The selection is done in a manner that represents the whole population.
The sampling technique is preferred in heterogeneous populations because it minimises selection bias and ensures that the entire population group is represented.
About the Chairperson
About the Chairperson
About the Steering Group
In accordance with the rules and procedures of the Student Forum, a Steering Group has been put in place to support the Forum in the efficient and effective discharge of its role and functions. The Group will assist with planning and operational issues associated with the work programme. The Steering Group consists of the Chairperson and a representative group of Forum Members elected by the Forum Members.
About the Expert Advisory Group
The Expert Advisory Group was established early in the development of the UCC Student Forum. The purpose is to provide independent expert analysis and advice to the Working group, Steering Group & members of the UCC Student Forum. They act to ensure balance and legitimacy in the establishment, conduct and reporting of the Forum.
Members
The group is comprised of academics and practitioners from with extensive international expertise:
Professor Graham Smith
Professor Smith is Professor of Politics and Director of the Centre for the Study of Democracy (CSD) in the School of Social Sciences, Westminster University, London.
His main research interests are in democratic theory and practice (particularly participatory democratic institutions), climate and environmental politics and the third sector/social economy. Recent publications include Can Democracy Safeguard the Future? & Democratic Innovations: Designing Institutions for Citizen Participation.
He has been appointed Chair of the Knowledge Network on Climate Assemblies (KNOCA) funded by the European Climate Foundation. KNOCA was launched in June 2021.
Mr Art O’Leary
Art O’Leary has recently been appointed as interim CEO of the Irish Electoral Commission. The objective of the commission is to oversee the conduct of all elections in the state.
Previously he has been the Secretary General to the President from June 2014 to May 2021, responsible for advising the President on constitutional and all other matters relating to the presidency. He was also responsible for the administration of the President's office and staff at Áras an Uachtaráin. Prior to that he was Secretary to the Constitutional Convention, a two-year citizen-led initiative to consider constitutional change in a wide number of areas, from the electoral system to marriage equality.
Dr Clodagh Harris is a senior lecturer in the Department of Government & Politics and affiliate of the Environmental Research Institute.
She has served on the International Scientific Advisory Board of Ireland’s first Citizens’ Assembly ‘We the Citizens’ (2011), the board of International Observers to Belgium’s G1000 citizens’ summit (2011), the Academic and Legal advisory board of Ireland’s Constitutional Convention (2012-2014), the Advisory Board of the ESRC funded UK Citizens’ Assembly on Brexit (2017). She currently sits on the Scottish Citizens’ Assembly’s Research and Advisory Group and the NESC advisory panel on the development of an Irish well-being index.
Professor Kieran Keohane
Professor Kieran Keohane, a senior member of staff in the Department of Sociology, has a number of research interests including sociological analysis in the interpretive tradition, confluences between critical theory and poststructuralism; cities and forms of urban life; identity, difference and social antagonism and others. His current work covers areas such as the city and urban culture, the generation and legacy of cultural capital in Europe's 'cultural capitals'; and the cultivation of cosmopolitanism.
He has a particular interest in epidemiology, public health and social policy based on interpretive work in symbolic disorders associated with accelerated modernization, globalization and risk. Also in the planning field, he is currently writing a book entitled: Model Homes and the Idea of Security: The Collective Dreamhouse of the Modern State.
About the Secretariat
The UCC Student Forum Secretariat is a small team drawn from the staff of the university.
The team members are ?, Secretary to the Student Forum, +1, +2, +3 and +4.
The Secretariat assists the Chair in the efficient running of the Forum.