IamIrish
IamIrish connect, support, advocate and empower Irish people of Mixed Ancestry/Multi Ethnicity and Global Majority. They do this through: Grassroots work in the community, in person and online events. Consultation, training and strategic support targeted at organisations wanting to improve diversity, inclusion and representation.
Idea for research
Idea for research
This research initiative seeks to address the limitations in census data related to ethnicity, particularly focusing on the identification of the multiethnic Irish population within the UK. The current ethnicity data collection forms often oversimplify diverse identities, encouraging individuals with complex ethnic backgrounds to choose between categories that may not accurately represent their heritage. The primary aim is to fill this knowledge gap and better understand the multiethnic Irish community in the UK.

This research not only contributes to a more accurate representation of the multiethnic Irish population but also provides actionable insights to enhance community engagement and support. We want a nuanced understanding of the proportion of multiethnic Irish individuals within the broader Irish community in the UK to explore strategies to increase the reach and engagement of multiethnic Irish individuals with relevant organizations, fostering a more inclusive and representative approach.

Central questions of research could be:
What is the proportion of multi-ethnic Irish living in the UK?
With which ethnicity do multi-ethnic Irish people identify with?
Does ethnic identification vary across generations of people with Irish heritage?
Impact of idea
Identify the proportion of people would help the organisation to obtain benchmark figures, apply for funding and grants from government organisations, charities and other third sector organisations. Understanding with what ethnicity multi-ethnic Irish people identify with will help the organisation to reach more people who are from a multi-ethnic Irish background. The obtained data might help to identify priorities in view of funding and other resources. In the long term, the available data might help the organisation to influence policy and the way ethnicity data is collected.
Comments
To obtain representative data about the ethnic background of the population, the “Understanding Society Study” (also known as UK Longitudinal Household Study) can be used. It is the largest household study in the UK and collect comprehensive information on ethnicity, identify and birth country of parents. This study used a complex survey design and has ethnic minority boost and migration boost samples.

Quantitative secondary data from a publicly available source. The data can be obtained from the UK data service.

If you have any existing data or information you would like included in a project, please tell us what kind of data these are

What new data or information would you like to be collected in this project?

Application process
Application criteria
None
DBS needed
No
Is this project fully accessible to students with the disabilities?
Yes