SCIENCE FOUNDATION Ireland plans to revamp its funding programmes during 2012 including the reduction in the number of research centres it supports and altering the programmes that back academic research.
There will be no impact on the foundation’s activities, however, despite the 3 per cent cut applied to its overall 2012 capital allocation, director general Dr Graham Love said during a briefing in Dublin yesterday.
Earlier this month the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation said the foundation would receive €156 million in support of scientific research here, down from a 2011 figure of €161 million.
This cut would not have an impact on the foundation’s activities, Dr Love said. “We can deliver a lot with €156 million – we can do a lot with that money.”
It would continue to support about 3,000 research scientists. Funding procedures were being modified however, with those submitting bids during 2012 operating under the new “Investigators Programme”.
These will work much the same as previous award schemes, and will claim about 70 per cent of the foundation’s total budget.
It includes two categories, Investigator Awards, worth up to €2.5 million and lasting three to five years, and Investigator Projects, smaller awards up to €300,000 and lasting two to four years.
The purpose of this investment in individuals remained the same: to continue the process of building up Ireland’s research capacity and supporting competitiveness in the Irish economy, he said.
The investment was paying dividends and represented a natural resource. “This is our oil. This will make us more productive in the coming years,” Dr Love said. Currently this was an “under-tapped resource” that would develop in time.
“We are getting something from it and we are about to get a whole lot more.”
There are currently nine centres for science, engineering and technology and 19 strategic research clusters.
Research 2011: Activities funded by Science Foundation Ireland
Trinity College Dublin discovers how cancer cells self-destruct, pointing towards future cancer therapies
Microchip sensor developed at Tyndall National Institute in Cork measures respiratory rate and could be used to monitor infant breathing to protect against sudden infant death syndrome
The Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre at UCC ranked as number two in the world in probiotics research
UL researcher develops mathematical method to predict the spread of epidemics
NUI Galway researchers show how the brain controls pain by producing its own marijuana-like chemicals
Trinity College Dublin’s nanotech centre Crann forms €5 million partnership with UK company
Researchers at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and Trinity join with artists from the Royal Hibernian Academy to produce the world’s first 3D surface anatomy guide
Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies scientists publish important geology research findings about the nature of the Earth’s crust
UCD scientist wins international award for sustainability research.