Research Newsletter - Issue 106: Information and Updates

The European Environment Agency (EEA) has launched a call for expressions of interest to appoint the 15 members of the European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change for its 2026–2030 term.

The European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change is an independent body providing the European Union with scientific knowledge, expertise and advice relating to climate change.  The Advisory Board evaluates policies and identifies actions and opportunities to successfully achieve the EU’s climate targets.

This call is now open and available on the EEA website with a deadline of 15 September 2025.

The European Commission has launched a call for applications to join the Advisory Forum under the AI Act.

Stakeholders from across civil society, academia, industry, SMEs, and start-ups are invited to contribute to the responsible and effective implementation of the AI regulation.

The Advisory Forum will serve as a general advisory body to the Commission. It will complement the work of the Scientific panel, which will advise the AI Office and, upon request, the national market surveillance authorities, on general-purpose AI.

The forum will provide independent technical expertise and advice on a broad range of issues and ensure targeted and competent stakeholders’ input on different aspects of the AI Act, including on standardisation and implementation challenges.

The forum will ensure balanced representation of commercial and non-commercial interests, regional diversity, and gender equality. Permanent members will include key EU agencies such as the Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) and the EU cybersecurity agency ENISA, along with standardisation bodies like the European Committee for Standardization (CEN), the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC), and the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI).

Applications are open until 14 September 2025 to experts from organisations with a proven track record in AI-related fields. 

For more information, applications, and the full terms of reference, please visit the European Commission website. 

As part of the OVPR Quality Enhancement Plan, Research Support Services are seeking to explore aspects of post award activity that can raise the most issues for the research community.  We would therefore appreciate it if academic colleagues could take approximately 10 minutes to complete our Post Award Activity Survey.

By doing so, your direct feedback will help inform the best ways of supporting the post award function into the future.

The Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) is excited to announce the start of the Pure Implementation Project, a major initiative to transform how we manage and showcase research outputs and impacts at DCU.  We'll be implementing a new, single research information management system called Pure, which will replace our existing researcher profile and award management systems, Research Engine and TORA.

Pure will provide a centralised way to manage research profiles, applications, awards, and other research outputs. It will also enhance the ability to record, manage, showcase, and report on research outputs, activities, and impact.

The project is being led out of the OVPR with involvement from multiple units across DCU.  Throughout the project, we’ll be engaging with stakeholders across the University, including researchers, Heads of Schools, Research Centre Directors, Professional Support Units, and many others to ensure that everyone is kept informed and has the opportunity to influence the design and implementation of the system. This involvement will be crucial to ensuring the project's success and maximising the impact for all.

At this point, we wanted to let you know that the project has officially started, and we are committed to keeping you informed and involved throughout.  The new system is scheduled to launch next year.  For now, users can continue to use Research Engine and TORA as normal, and we will aim to make the move to Pure as seamless as possible.  

In next month's Research Newsletter, and subsequent issues, we’ll provide more information on the project, the benefits of the new system, and how you can get involved.  In the meantime, if you have any initial queries, please feel free to contact us at researchsystems@dcu.ie.

Effective from Tuesday, 5th August 2025, professional service costs are only eligible for entities that are not listed as project partners in a coordinator support application – this will apply to applications received on, or after, 5th August 2025.

Partner costs are an ineligible cost and this includes costs associated with professional service providers, consultants and project management companies listed as partners in a Coordinator Support grant application.

Please see the updated grant guidelines on the EI’s Horizon Europe Supports webpage.

The EU Commission has published the pre-ISC draft of the Horizon Europe Work Programme (WP) 2026-2027 for Cluster 2: “Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society” on the Comitology Register website. 

This is being provided to you for your information on the topics that are likely to be included in the WP 2026 and 2027. However please note that this is a draft and that changes may be made by the Commission to these topics and/or to indicative budgets, etc.

Note that the anticipated launch of the 2026 call (once the WP has been formally adopted) is 12th May 2026, with a deadline for applications on 16th September 2026.

EU partnerships under Cluster 2

The 2026 Work Programme includes the call for the proposal for the Social Transformations and Resilience EU partnership.  Should a proposal be accepted, the first call will launch in 2027.  Research Ireland is supporting Ireland’s participation in the Social Transformations and Resilience partnership and also in the Resilient Cultural Heritage partnership, which will launch its first call in 2026.

On the 16th July 2025, the European Commission presented its proposals for the multiannual budget (MFF) and programmes post 2027.  The increase in the combined budget share for Erasmus+ and Horizon Europe, from about 9% in the current MFF (2021- 2027) to almost 11% for the next MFF (2028-2034), is a promising signal for universities and indicates the longevity of Europe as a source of external research funding.

The programme budgets of both Erasmus+ and Horizon Europe are proposed to increase. (This will be subject to negotiation, with final budget agreement and programme regulations expected early in 2027).  Moreover, the new European Competitiveness Fund (ECF) will also fund relevant initiatives for universities. The precise budgetary breakdown within each programme is yet to be clarified.

• Horizon Europe 2.0 receives a proposed €175 billion for research and innovation (compared to €95.5 now).  Some unclarity remains about the independence from a European Competitiveness Fund and what this would mean for academic independence.  More information about the Horizon Europe proposal can be found in the Horizon Europe programme proposal.
• Erasmus+ 2.0 receives a proposed €40.8 billion for education and mobility (compared to €26.2 billion now, but it should also include some extra activities such as a European Solidarity Corps).  More information can be found in the Erasmus+ programme proposal.
• The new European Competitiveness Fund receives a proposed €409 billion for innovation.  More information can be found in the ECF programme proposal.

The Cohesion Policy receives a proposed €865 billion to support national and regional partnerships. This will include a stronger performance-based approach that links reforms and investments.

• The Research Ethics Committee Approval Letter template has been redrafted to reflect the fact that ethical approval expires with the end date of the project and prompt researchers to submit an amendment request to the REC to extend the project as needed.

• The REC application form has been significantly updated to guide applicants better in providing the appropriate details and to speed up the approval process for research projects. The updated application form can be found on the research ethics webpage in the Useful Resources for Applying to REC section. 

• From the 20th of August 2025, all DCU researchers and students who are named on a Research Ethics Committee application must include their completion certificates for Module 9: Research involving Human Participants (Concise or Comprehensive Research Integrity Training programmes on Loop) in the Appendices as evidence of basic research ethics training. 

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