Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris TD has today (Monday) launched the call for applications to the €40 million North-South Research Programme.
This significant investment, provided through the Shared Island Fund, will support the deepening of links between higher education institutions, researchers and research communities on the island of Ireland.
Minister Harris said: “This is a very exciting opportunity to bring individual researchers, research teams and higher education institutions North and South together on the issues that matter to all of us.
"This funding will support individual researchers based in an Irish higher education institution (HEI) to collaborate with a researcher in a HEI in Northern Ireland on an identified research project, or research teams to collaborate on an agreed work programme."
HEA Chief Executive, Dr Alan Wall added: “The HEA welcomes this opportunity for higher education and research on a shared island basis. This programme will bring together researchers, students, enterprise and community as it is designed to allow consortia to include a wide range of stakeholders. It will support them to engage, explore and contribute to new knowledge and understanding across a wide range of areas”.
In this first round of the North-South programme, Strand I projects may receive a maximum of €100,000 per annum for up to two years, while Strands II and III projects may receive up to €1 million per annum for up to four years. A maximum of 50% of any award may be allocated to NI partners.
This announcement is the single largest allocation to date from the €500m Shared Island Fund, further highlighting the importance that the Government is placing on high quality, comprehensive research, while complementing other Shared Island investments, which have focussed on long standing infrastructure projects like the Ulster Canal and Narrow Water Bridge.
The call is open for applications until 18th October 2021. Further information is available on the HEA website.
ENDS
Notes to the Editor
The programme will be run by the Higher Education Authority and will encompass a portfolio of investment instruments to take account of the different types of nascent cross-border research opportunities. The Programme will be structured along the following three strands:
- Bilateral researcher-researcher projects:
This will support individual researchers based in an Irish higher education institution (HEI) to collaborate with a researcher in a HEI in Northern Ireland on an identified research project.
- Emerging hubs of excellence:
This strand will support research teams to collaborate on an agreed work programme. Interdisciplinary collaborations will be encouraged.
III. Partnerships of scale:
Higher education institutions will be supported to collaborate with each other on the basis of their respective institutional strategic research priorities.
Eligibility and Funding
The funding will be awarded through two Programme calls (across the three strands above), the first Call issuing today and the second in Year 3. In the Year 1 call, Strand I projects may receive a maximum of €100,000 per annum for up to two years, while Strands II and III projects may receive up to €1m per annum for up to four years. A maximum of 50% of any award may be allocated to NI partners.
A wide range of higher education institutions and their partners on the island will be eligible to apply to the programme and at least one proposal participant must be based in Ireland and one in Northern Ireland.
In terms of assessment of funding applications, the HEA will put in place a peer-review assessment process typical of research funding awards involving an independent panel of international experts.
At the end of Year 2, a review will be undertaken of the projects funded thus far in order to inform the format of the second call. For example, this will consider breakdown of applications and approvals across Strands, as well as thematic spread such as climate and health-related awards.