80 seek Science Foundation funding

About 40 foreign-based researchers, many from the US, have applied for funding under the Government's new support programme for scientific research. Individual projects could receive up to £5 million and accepted proposals will be announced by January.

The applicants are amongst a total of 80 who have sought funding from the new Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), a body established last March. The foundation has £560 million to invest in research here by 2006 under the terms of the National Development Plan.

The proposals have come from researchers in 12 countries including Ireland, according to sources close to the foundation. They are evenly split between Irish and foreign based.

A selection process involving two assessment rounds by groups of international researchers is underway, the sources said. No more than 10 projects will be chosen, five each in the two research areas of interest to the foundation - biotechnology and information technology.

The call for proposals was open to researchers in any country but all research work must be done here, one source explained. The researcher will work full-time for the foundation and can use the money to assemble a team of three to 12 assistants and to buy equipment.

The goal was to attract the highest quality researchers in the world, he said. "We have to be very rigorous in who we support," he added and only the very best, internationally recognised researchers would be funded.

The processing of this first round comes even before the appointment of a board and a chief executive officer (CEO). The call for proposals opened in June and closed at the end of September, but the CEO will not be appointed until the end of the year, the source acknowledged.

The SFI currently exists as a part of Forfas and its chief executive, Mr John Travers, serves as the foundation's CEO. Forfas and the lead Department overseeing the creation of SFI, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, decided it was essential to "keep the momentum going" by allowing a call for proposals before the foundation came into being.

Pressure to get projects running also comes because the Department has a budgeted £25 million this year to fund the first round.