Centre Co-Directors, Dr Mandi MacDonald and Professor Davy Hayes, gave a keynote address at the annual conference hosted by the Children’s Research Network and UCD CHilD-RC at University College Dublin on Wednesday 6^th December 2023 (https://www.childrensresearchnetwork.com/events/crn-and-child-rc-annual-conference-2023). The theme of the conference was ‘the impact of policies, processes and practice on children and young people on the island of Ireland’ and the keynote presentation reflected on the impact of research on policy and practice and how this could be enhanced.