Co-Production Research: Service co-production between a service professional and an individual client involves collaborative decision making between these two parties which necessitates high levels of interaction and information sharing between them. This type of collaborative interaction and the role of Information Systems in such settings represents an under-researched area and holds much promise in reducing costs and finding new ways to address the increasingly complex needs of customers/consumers.
E-Government Research: Governments, worldwide, are increasingly recognising the advantages of interacting with their citizens by electronic means and as a result, this area is receiving growing attention both from research and practice. Indeed, the Irish Government has announced plans to implement a design led approach across all public services in Ireland with the aim of ensuring that all services including digital services keep service users at the centre of decision making. Empirical research on how such an approach can best be supported by Information Systems is lacking and needs attention.
Methodological Interests: While much IS research heretofore has concentrated on how information systems facilitate information processing and the decision making of individuals both within and outside of an organizational context, there is a growing need within organisations to analyse and understand how information systems facilitate both internal and external information sharing and collaboration (e.g. with customers, suppliers and partners). I am an advocate of utilizing 'people-centred and action oriented ' organizational theory (e.g. socio-technical systems theory, activity theory) in order to facilitate more holistic and insightful research on how interactions are enabled and work gets done through all elements of IS (people, process, technology).
Biography
Dr. Grace is a part-time lecturer and researcher with the Cork University Business School. Her current research focuses on design led service innovation with an emphasis on how information systems (IS) can be leveraged in user-centric design and delivery of services.
Her research is underpinned by the socio-technical perspective of organisational behaviour and service user behaviour; and she has a particular interest in how 'information technology tools' can be combined with 'psychological tools' to achieve better outcomes.
Her research also includes the employment of IS which help enable individuals to manage their own wellness and to better collaborate with healthcare professionals on the management of their healthcare. In addition, Dr. Grace work has spanned digital transformation, service co-production, e-government and the employment of learning management systems for the maximization of human capital within organisations.
Research Interests
eHealth Research: Publicly provided healthcare systems, worldwide, are coming under increasing pressures because of aging populations, increased prevalence of chronic disease and spiralling healthcare costs. It is widely recognized that such pressures can be somewhat alleviated by focusing on community-based healthcare and empowering people to manage their own wellness. Information Systems can clearly play a key part in this empowerment and as such represents a particularly fruitful area of research.Co-Production Research: Service co-production between a service professional and an individual client involves collaborative decision making between these two parties which necessitates high levels of interaction and information sharing between them. This type of collaborative interaction and the role of Information Systems in such settings represents an under-researched area and holds much promise in reducing costs and finding new ways to address the increasingly complex needs of customers/consumers.
E-Government Research: Governments, worldwide, are increasingly recognising the advantages of interacting with their citizens by electronic means and as a result, this area is receiving growing attention both from research and practice. Indeed, the Irish Government has announced plans to implement a design led approach across all public services in Ireland with the aim of ensuring that all services including digital services keep service users at the centre of decision making. Empirical research on how such an approach can best be supported by Information Systems is lacking and needs attention.
Methodological Interests: While much IS research heretofore has concentrated on how information systems facilitate information processing and the decision making of individuals both within and outside of an organizational context, there is a growing need within organisations to analyse and understand how information systems facilitate both internal and external information sharing and collaboration (e.g. with customers, suppliers and partners). I am an advocate of utilizing 'people-centred and action oriented ' organizational theory (e.g. socio-technical systems theory, activity theory) in order to facilitate more holistic and insightful research on how interactions are enabled and work gets done through all elements of IS (people, process, technology).
Research Grants
| Project | Funding Body | Start Date | End Date | Award | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doctyor Patient Decision Support System. | Enterprise Irl | 01-JUL-13 | 30-NOV-13 | €19,410.00 | |
| Predict X - A cloud based predictive analytics service platform for customer retention in publishing | Enterprise Ireland | 03-SEP-12 | 28-SEP-13 | €142,215.00 | |
| Multimorbidity System - Research and Prototype Development | Other: Not Listed | 04-JUN-12 | 31-AUG-12 | €10,000.00 |
Publications
Peer Reviewed Journals
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| (2019) | 'Enabling Service Co-Production: A Theory Building Case Study' Grace, A., Gleasure, R., Finnegan, P., Butler, T. (2019) 'Enabling Service Co-Production: A Theory Building Case Study'. European Journal of Information Systems, [Details] | |
| (2017) | 'Supporting the critical role of family carers in wellness management' Grace, Audrey; Gleasure, Robert (2017) 'Supporting the critical role of family carers in wellness management'. Health Policy and Technology, 6 (2):242-249 [DOI] [Full Text] [Details] | |
| (2016) | 'Designing an artefact to help users make intervention decisions about their wellness' Gleasure, R,Grace, A (2016) 'Designing an artefact to help users make intervention decisions about their wellness'. Journal of Decision Systems, 25 :261-273 [DOI] [Details] | |
| (2016) | 'Understanding core IS capabilities throughout the IS/IT service co-production lifecycle' Kasraian, L;Sammon, D;Grace, A (2016) 'Understanding core IS capabilities throughout the IS/IT service co-production lifecycle'. Journal of Decision Systems, 25 :290-301 [DOI] [Details] | |
| (2015) | 'Health and Social Care – Towards an Understanding of Wellness Management and the Role of IS' Grace, Audrey; Gleasure, Robert (2015) 'Health and Social Care – Towards an Understanding of Wellness Management and the Role of IS'. Procedia Computer Science, 64 :248-256 [DOI] [Full Text] [Details] | |
| (2013) | 'Evaluating the Effectiveness of Clinical Decision Support Systems: The Case of Multimorbidity Care' Grace, Audrey; Mahony, Carolanne; O’Donoghue, John; Heffernan, Tony; Molony, David; Carroll, Thomas (2013) 'Evaluating the Effectiveness of Clinical Decision Support Systems: The Case of Multimorbidity Care'. Journal of Decision Systems, 22 (3):97-108 [DOI] [Full Text] [Details] | |
| (2005) | 'Beyond Knowledge Management - Introducing Learning Management Systems' Grace, A. and Butler, T.; (2005) 'Beyond Knowledge Management - Introducing Learning Management Systems'. Annals of Cases On Information Technology, 7 (1):53-70 [Details] | |
| (2005) | 'Learning Management Systems: A New Beginning in the Management of Learning and Knowledge' Grace, A. and Butler, T; (2005) 'Learning Management Systems: A New Beginning in the Management of Learning and Knowledge'. International Journal of Knowledge and Learning, 1 (1/2):12-24 [Details] |
Book Chapters
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| (2016) | 'Computerized Decision Support Systems for Multimorbidity Care - An Urgent Call for Research and Development' Grace, A., O'Donognue, J., Mahony, C., Heffernan, T., Moloney, D., Carroll, T. (2016) 'Computerized Decision Support Systems for Multimorbidity Care - An Urgent Call for Research and Development' In: Isabel Maria Miranda and Maria Manuela Cruz-Cunha (eds). Encyclopedia of E-Health and Telemedicine. Hershey, Pennsylvania: IGI Global. [DOI] [Full Text] [Details] | |
| (2012) | 'Collaborative Decision Making at the Client Interface: An Exploratory Case Study of Service Co-Production' Grace, A., Finnegan, P. and Butler, T. (2012) 'Collaborative Decision Making at the Client Interface: An Exploratory Case Study of Service Co-Production' In: Fusing Decision Support Systems into the Fabric of the Context. Amsterdam: IOS Press. [Details] | |
| (2009) | 'Building and Maintaining Human Capital with Learning Management Systems' Grace, A. and Butler, T.; (2009) 'Building and Maintaining Human Capital with Learning Management Systems' In: Strategic Intellectual Capital Management in Multinational Organizations: Sustainability and Successful Implications. Hershley, PA: Business Science Reference, IGI Global. [Details] | |
| (2007) | 'Beyond Knowledge Management: Introducing Learning Management System, Knowledge Management' Grace A and Butler T; (2007) 'Beyond Knowledge Management: Introducing Learning Management System, Knowledge Management' In: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications. Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference. [Details] | |
| (2004) | 'Learning Management Systems: A New Opportunity' Dunne, A. and Butler, T; (2004) 'Learning Management Systems: A New Opportunity' In: IT Innovation for Adaptability and Competitiveness. Netherlands: Kluwer. [Details] |
Conference Publications
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| (2017) | 30th Bled eConference: Digital Transformation – From Connecting Things to Transforming Our Lives Morakanyane, R., Grace, A. and O'Reilly, P. (2017) Conceptualizing Digital Transformation in Business Organizations: A Systematic Review of Literature 30th Bled eConference: Digital Transformation – From Connecting Things to Transforming Our Lives Bled, Slovenia, , 18-JUN-17 - 21-JUN-17 [Details] | |
| (2016) | Second Global Summit on Telemedicine & eHealth Grace, A. (2016) Before and After Healthcare: Improving Wellness through IT enabled Self-Assessment & Peer Support Second Global Summit on Telemedicine & eHealth New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, , 24-AUG-16 - 25-AUG-16 [Details] | |
| (2016) | Electronic Government and Electronic Participation Binsaif, N;Adam, F;Grace, A (2016) Towards Successful e-Government Initiatives: Exploring the Adaptation Strategies of Public Sector Middle Managers Electronic Government and Electronic Participation , pp.163-171 [DOI] [Details] | |
| (2016) | IFIP WG8.3 Conference Gleasure, R. and Grace, A. (2016) Designing an artefact to help users make intervention decisions about their wellness IFIP WG8.3 Conference Cork, , 22-JUN-16 - 24-JUN-16 [Details] | |
| (2016) | IFIP WG8.3 Conference KASRAIAN, L., SAMMON, D. and GRACE, A. (2016) Understanding Core IS Capabilities throughout the IS/IT Service Co-production Lifecycle IFIP WG8.3 Conference Cork, , 22-JUN-16 - 24-JUN-16 [Details] | |
| (2015) | European Conference on Knowledge Management KASRAIAN, L., SAMMON, D. and GRACE, A. (2015) The Role of Customer Knowledge in Service Co-Production Throughout the IS/IT Service LifeCycle European Conference on Knowledge Management Udine, Italy, [Details] | |
| (2015) | International Conference on Health and Social Care Information Systems and Technologies Grace, A. & Gleasure, R. (2015) Health and Social Care - Towards an Understanding of Wellness Management and the role of IS International Conference on Health and Social Care Information Systems and Technologies Portugal, , 06-OCT-15 - 08-OCT-15 [Details] | |
| (2015) | PROCEEDINGS OF THE 16TH EUROPEAN CONFERENCE ON KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT (ECKM 2015) Kasraian, L;Sammon, D;Grace, A (2015) The Role of Customer Knowledge in Service Co-Production Throughout the IS/IT Service LifeCycle PROCEEDINGS OF THE 16TH EUROPEAN CONFERENCE ON KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT (ECKM 2015) , pp.1005-1007 [Details] | |
| (2014) | DSS 2.0 - IFIP WG8.3 and SIGDSS Open Conference on Supporting Decision Making with New Technologies Kasraian, L; Grace, A; Sammon, D. (2014) Collaborative Decision Making with the Customer: The Impact of IS Capabilities on Co-Production of IS/IT Services DSS 2.0 - IFIP WG8.3 and SIGDSS Open Conference on Supporting Decision Making with New Technologies Paris, , 02-JUN-14 - 05-JUN-14 [Details] | |
| (2013) | MEDINFO 2013: PROCEEDINGS OF THE 14TH WORLD CONGRESS ON MEDICAL AND HEALTH INFORMATICS, PTS 1 AND 2 Grace, A;Mahony, C;O'Donoghue, J;Heffernan, T;Molony, D;Carroll, T (2013) A Vision for Enhancing Multimorbid Care using Clinical Decision Support Systems MEDINFO 2013: PROCEEDINGS OF THE 14TH WORLD CONGRESS ON MEDICAL AND HEALTH INFORMATICS, PTS 1 AND 2 , pp.1117-1117 [DOI] [Details] | |
| (2012) | DSS2012 - 16th IFIP WG8.3 International Conference on Decision Support Systems Grace, A., Finnegan, P. and Butler T.; (2012) Collaborative Decision Making at the Client Interface: An Exploratory Case Study of Service Co-production DSS2012 - 16th IFIP WG8.3 International Conference on Decision Support Systems Athens, , 28-JUN-12 - 30-JUN-12 [Details] | |
| (2012) | European Conference of Information Management and Evaluation Grace, A. (2012) Activity Theory: A Useful Evaluation Methodology for the Role of Information Systems in Collaborative Activity European Conference of Information Management and Evaluation University College Cork, , 13-SEP-12 - 14-SEP-12 [Details] | |
| (2008) | 16th European Conference on Information Systems Grace, A., Finnegan, P. and Butler, T. ; (2008) Service Co-Creation with the Customer: The Role of Information Systems 16th European Conference on Information Systems NUI Galway, Ireland, , pp.1-12 [Details] | |
| (2004) | IFIP TC8 WG8.6. International Working Conference Dunne, A. and Butler, T.; (2004) Learning Management System: A New Opportunity IFIP TC8 WG8.6. International Working Conference Springer, New York, , pp.1-20 [Details] | |
| (2004) | 12th European Conference on Information Systems Dunne, A. and Butler, T.; (2004) Beyond Knowledge Management - Introducing a framework for Learning Management Systems 12th European Conference on Information Systems Turku, Finland, , 14-JUN-04 - 16-JUN-04 [Details] |
Thesis/Dissertation
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| (2011) | Service Co-creation: A Theory Building Case Study. Grace, A. (2011) Service Co-creation: A Theory Building Case Study. UCC Library: Thesis/Dissertation [Details] | |
| (2003) | Learning Management Systems: An Exploratory Case Study. Dunne, A.; (2003) Learning Management Systems: An Exploratory Case Study. Thesis/Dissertation [Details] |
Professional Activities
Honours and Awards
| Year | Title | Awarding Body | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | MSc ISBP - Best Postgraduate Course (IT) | PostGrad Ireland | |
| 2016 | MSc ISBP - Best Postgraduate Course (IT) | PostGrad Ireland | |
| 2015 | MSc ISBP - Best Postgraduate Course (Business) | PostGrad Ireland | |
| 2014 | MSc ISBP - Best Postgraduate Course (IT) | PostGrad Ireland | |
| 2013 | MSc ISBP - Best Postgraduate Course (IT) | PostGrad Ireland |
Professional Associations
| Association | Function | From / To | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) | Governing Council | 01-JUL-16 / 30-JUN-19 | |
| Healthcare Informatics Society of Ireland | member | 01-OCT-12 / | |
| Association of Information Systems | member | 02-FEB-04 / |
Committees
| Committee | Function | From / To | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business School Group on Academic Standards | Member | 2015 / | |
| Teaching and Curriculum Development Committee | Committee Member | 2012 / | |
| Community Academic Research Links | Committee Member | 2012 / 2014 |
Employment
| Employer | Position | From / To | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vistech Software | Business Development Manager | 01-APR-00 / 01-MAY-01 | |
| Vision Consulting | Manager | 01-NOV-98 / 01-APR-00 | |
| Trinity Technology Group | Oracle Programme Manager | 01-MAY-97 / 01-NOV-98 | |
| AIB Capital Markets | DBA and Technical Support Specialist | 01-OCT-95 / 01-MAY-97 | |
| AIB Group | Senior Systems Programmer (Mainframe and Midrange Operating Environments) | 02-NOV-89 / 01-OCT-95 |
Education
| Year | Institution | Qualification | Subject | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | University College Cork | PHD | Information Systems | |
| 2003 | University College cork | MSc | Management Information Systems | |
| 2002 | University College Cork | Postgraduate Diploma | Management and Marketing | |
| 1995 | Association of Chartered Certified Accountants | Postgraduate Diploma | Accounting and Finance | |
| 1989 | University College Cork | BSC (HONS) | Computer Science |
Outreach Activities
| Description | |
|---|---|
Hosted knowledge dissemination session by MSc (Information Systems for Business Performance) students on their Collaborative Research Projects to external mentors and project supporters in Industry - August 2015. | |
Future Directions in Dimentia Research, CARDI - December 2014 | |
ActivAge Conference on Technology, Health and Wellness in Older Age - November 2013 | |
Healthcare Informatics Society of Ireland Summit - November 2013 |
Other Activities
| Description | |
|---|---|
Reviewer Committee for European Conference on Information Systems, Istanbul, June 2016. | |
Reviewer Committee for Information Systems Journal, 2016. | |
Evaluation of 8 business plans as an external judge for EU-XCEL, a Horizon 2020 and Startup Europe Project - September 2015. | |
Served on the Interview Board for selection of candidates to fill 2 full-time BIS posts - August 2015. | |
Programme Committee of DSS 2.0 Supporting Decision Making with New Technologies, Paris, June 2014 | |
Reviewer Committee for International Conference on Information Systems, Milan, Dec 2013 | |
Reviewer Committee for IADIS Conference on Computer Science and Information Systems, Prague, July 2013 | |
Reviewer Committee for Australian Conference on Information Systems, Geelong, Australia, Dec 2012 | |
Reviewer Committee for Pacific Asia Conference on Information Systems, Hochiminh, Vietnam, July 2012 | |
Programme Committee of DSS2012 International Conference on Decision Support Systems, Anávissos, Greece, June 2012 | |
Reviewer Committee for European Conference on Information Systems, NUI Galway, June 2008 | |
Reviewer Committee for European Conference on Information Systems, Turku, Finland, June 2004 |
Teaching Activities
Teaching Interests
Post-Graduate Supervision:
PhD Supervision : Exploration of the Role of IS Core Capabilities on Co-Production of IS/IT Services
PhD Supervision: Exploring the Impact of E-government Initiatives on Public Adminisatrators
Dissertation Supervision: Distance Learning through Blackboard: A Case Study of the MBS in Co-operative and Social Enterprise
Dissertation Supervision: Standardising the Management Action Plan Process at Janssen Pharmaceuticals Limited.
Collaborative Industry Research Projects Supervision, MBS Information Systems for Business Performance
Other Undergraduate/Postgraduate Teaching Experience:
IS Consulting Process, MBS Management Information Systems
E-Health, MBS Health Services Management
Database Design and Development, MBS Electronic Commerce
Supervision of Final Year Innovative System Development projects, Degree in Business Information Systems
Recent Postgraduates
| Graduation Year | Student Name | Institution | Degree Type | Thesis Title | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Resego Morakayane | UCC | PHD | Digital Transformation |
Research Information
Internal Collaborators
| Name | Institute | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dr. Denis O'Mahony | Consultant Physician in Geriatric Medicine, CUH and St. Finbar's Hospitals, and Principal Investigator SENATOR (FP7 project) | IRELAND |
External Collaborators
| Name | Organisation / Institute | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Professor David Cella | Chair, Department of Medical Social Sciences, Northwestern University, and Director, Center for Patient-Centered Outcomes - Institute for Public Health and Medicine | U.S.A. | |
| Dr. David Moloney | The Red House Family Practice, MPHC | IRELAND | |
| Dr. Tony Heffernan | The Cork Road Clinic, MPHC | IRELAND | |
| Dr. Tommy Carroll | The Medical Centre, MPHC | IRELAND | |
| Brigid Barron | Caring for Carers Ireland | IRELAND |