Research Newsletter - Issue 74: Funding Opportunities
Click on the call name below to find out further information:
The DCU Research Initiatives Fund is a new internal funding scheme designed to support high quality research activities.
The specific activities targeted by this scheme are captured under two funding strands:
Strand 1 - The production of high-quality research outputs (i.e. support for new and emerging research initiatives that are likely to lead to high quality research outputs)
Strand 2 - The development of competitive applications to major funders (i.e. support for interventions that will facilitate the development and competitiveness of research funding applications).
The scheme is open to all DCU academic staff and a maximum of €5,000 per application may be requested.
Guidelines containing further details of the scheme and eligible costs in relation to both funding strands have been developed. The Guidelines and Application Form can be found on the Internal Funding Schemes webpage.
The closing date for applications for the first round of funding (to be submitted by email to rif@dcu.ie) is Tuesday, 31st May 2022.
Queries can be directed to the Director of Research, Dr Sally Smith (sally.smith@dcu.ie).
Ireland’s National Open Research Forum (NORF) will be announcing a Call for Proposals to address six priority Actions in the National Action Plan for Open Research. The National Action Plan outlines objectives for the next chapter in Ireland’s transition towards open research, including Actions commencing in 2022.
The proposals process will take part in two stages:
- Stage 1: Call for Expressions of Interest (EOIs)
- Stage 2: Invitation to selected applicants from Stage 1 to submit full proposals.
Proposals will need to address one of the Actions noted below, drawn from the draft National Action Plan (NAP). These Actions seek to advance key areas of open research at the national level and proposals will need to demonstrate benefit to all stakeholders across the Irish research system.
Action- NAP- Budget range
National Open Access monitoring: Develop a monitor for open access at the national level, initially through pilot reports and a national dashboard, to publish, analyse and track progress towards 100% OA. A6.2.1 €150,000-200,000
Open Access repository assessment and alignment: Conduct a national programme of open access repository assessment and alignment to deliver standardised metadata nationally while building infrastructure alignment in-line with international best practices. A4.1.1 €150,000-220,000
Open Access transition programme: Conduct a feasibility study and pilot with a view to establishing a publicly-owned, centralised national platform for Diamond OA publication of journals and books. A4.3 .1 €150,000-210,000
Open Research training programme: Develop a national open research training programme to enable researchers at all stages of their career, from early to late, as well as postgraduate students, to upskill in open research practices. A3.1.1 €100,000-120,000
National data stewardship network: Establish a national data stewardship network across research performing organisations, funders, and related research support services and infrastructures to build national capacity and develop a collective voice and pool of expertise. A5.1.1 €70,000-100,000
Shared data storage service pilot: Develop a national shared data storage service for active data, starting with a pilot for a small number of research groups with the aim to grow the service into a national service. A5.2.1 €150,000-200,000
The expected timeline for the NORF 2022 Open Research Fund is as follows:
- 15 June 2022 Call for Expressions of Interest (EOI) released
- 15 July 2022 EOIs due
- 1 Aug 2022 Full proposals requested from selected EOIs
- 15 Sept 2022 Full proposals due
- 15 Oct 2022 Notification to Applicants
- 1 Nov 2022 Start date for funded projects
- 1 Nov 2024 Latest end date for funded projects
It is anticipated that there will be one successful proposal per Action. Each proposal must have one lead (Irish) institutional partner, and collaborations across institutions are encouraged. EOIs and full proposals will be peer reviewed by an international panel. More detail on the Actions, the application and review process, templates for EOIs and proposals, and eligible expenditure will follow when the Call for Expressions of Interest is released on 15th June 2022.
Contact: research@dcu.ie
The Azrieli International Postdoctoral Fellowship has launched its Call for Applications for the 2023–24 academic year. The fellowship offers generous funding and support for 24 international postdoctoral applicants to conduct research in exact sciences, life sciences, humanities, and social sciences at eligible Israeli academic institutions. The online application will be available beginning 1st September 2022.
This year, the fellowship has opened its eligibility on a worldwide scale. The value is approximately EUR 53,000 (ILS 188,000) per year, including funds reserved for research and travel.
Please find below the full information for the application process.
Contact: research@dcu.ie
The MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship call is now open. The application deadline is 14th September 2022.
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship programme is an excellent opportunity for researchers holding a PhD to enhance their creative and innovative potential by acquiring new skills through advanced training via international, interdisciplinary and intersectoral mobility. These fellowships are open to excellent researchers of any nationality or discipline to work on research in a European context or outside Europe.
Please refer to the EU Funding and Tenders Portal for details on the Call. DCU academics who are looking to support applications of incoming fellows please get in touch with Dr Sumona Mukherjee for details on upcoming proposal writing workshops in DCU and other support materials.
Contact: sumona.mukherjee@dcu.ie
The IRC New Foundations call is now open. The applicant’s deadline is the 21st of June 2022.
This year the call features an open strand together with seven strands run in partnership with government departments and agencies.
These seven strands are:
Strand 1a: Enhancing Civic Society - Supporting small, discrete collaborative projects between researchers and civic society groups in the community and voluntary sector (Maximum Award value €12,000).
Strand 4: ‘A Better World’ New Foundations Awards in partnership with the Department of Foreign Affairs (Irish Aid) - Networking awards to form consortia for prospective global north-south research partnerships focused on areas of strategic importance to Ireland’s Policy for International Development (Maximum Award value €10,000).
Strand 4b: Education for Global Citizenship and Sustainable Development New Foundations Awards in partnership with the Department of Foreign Affairs (Irish Aid) and the Department of Education - Supporting research, networking and collaboration for the purpose of increasing public awareness and understanding of issues such as climate change, hunger, global inequality and injustice (Maximum Award Value €10,000).
Strand 8: Department of the Taoiseach Shared Island New Foundations Awards - Supporting research, networking and collaboration for the purpose of informing and supporting the implementation and development of the Government’s Shared Island initiative (Maximum Award value €20,000).
Strand 10: Police Community Relations New Foundations Award in partnership with the Policing Authority - Supporting research seeking to bring the needs or experiences of communities to life in a manner that contributes to enhancing police community relations (Maximum Award Value €10,000).
Strand 11: ‘Volunteering Strategy’ New Foundations Award with the Department of Rural and Community Development - Supporting research with direct linkages to the new National Volunteering Strategy for Ireland and international best practice (Maximum Award Value €25,000).
Strand 12: New Foundations Award in partnership with the Sunflower Charitable Foundation through the Community Foundation for Ireland - These awards will support research, networking and collaboration on themes related to climate change and biodiversity (Maximum Award Value €20,000).
Strand 14: Utilising Evidence for Child Protection and Welfare Policy Needs New Foundations Award in partnership with Tusla Child and Family Agency - These awards will support research across a range of topics focused on areas of strategic importance to Tusla Child and Family Agency (Maximum Award Value €17,500).
For details on eligibility criteria, Terms and Conditions and applicant guide please refer to the IRC’s New Foundations website.
Contact: sumona.mukherjee@dcu.ie
The SFI Discover Programme for 2022 is now open and closes on the 21st of June 2022. The overarching purpose of the SFI Discover Programme is to support and develop STEM education and public engagement by investing in, developing and extending activity and ability in this area, and exploring and encouraging novel means of engaging the public in STEM. SFI welcomes contributions from across the sciences, arts, media, education, youth and/or community work sectors, and are keen to push the boundaries of participation and welcome novel approaches to engaging the public.
Applicants can apply to the following strands:
1. Project Funding of up to €50,000 for a maximum of one year, for projects that support the STEM education and public engagement sector in Ireland, by developing and extending capacity in this area and also exploring and encouraging novel means of public engagement. Partnership projects (e.g. between different sectors and organisations, such as scientists and ethicists, educators and artists) are welcomed.
2. Regional or National Initiative Funding of up to €300,000 over a maximum 24 months for a project/programme of significant scale that will have, at a minimum, regional or national impact and clearly aligns to the call objectives.
3.Sustaining Regional or National Initiative Funding 12 - 24 months for projects that have previously received Discover Regional or National Initiative funding for four or more years; funding does not need to have been consecutive.
The aim of the SFI Discover Programme Call is to support projects that address one or more of the following objectives:
• Inspire and create greater public awareness of the impact of STEM on society and its connection and contribution to everyday life.
• Stimulate and create debate and dialogue amongst the public, and opportunities for dialogue with STEM experts/researchers, on topics of societal importance where STEM has a key role.
• Use new ways, including through the arts and creative approaches, to understand and engage with those who would not typically engage with STEM, with particular emphasis on equal access, inclusion and diversity.
• Support and build engagement with, and participation of, a broader range of civil society and community groups through specific and appropriate targeted interaction, ideally involving co-creation and/or co-design.
• Build an awareness, curiosity and confidence in the scientific method through relevant experiences.
• Provide insights into STEM-related careers and discoveries while breaking down any barriers to entry including negative stereotypes.
• Support projects which develop capacity and skills for the delivery of STEM Education and Public Engagement (EPE) in Ireland.
SFI have released a pre-recorded webinar on the Discover Programme website, providing an overview of the call.
The TORA deadline has been set for Monday the 13th of June 2022 and the call will close on Tuesday the 21st of June 2022 at 13:00hrs (Irish time). If you are planning on submitting an application, please let the DCU Research Support Office contact know (adam.platt@dcu.ie). This will allow us to provide you with further updates and information regarding the call.
Contact: adam.platt@dcu.ie
SFI has launched a new supplemental grant scheme to encourage and enable holders of existing SFI grants, and their associated Host Institutions, to provide opportunities for displaced researchers from Ukraine to join and collaborate on existing SFI-funded grants in order to integrate swiftly into the Irish research system, to enable them to maintain continuity in their research career and to bring added benefit to the SFI grant from their expertise.
Applications are open to principal investigators of existing SFI-funded grants to provide relevant research positions to displaced researchers from Ukraine at any stage of their research career. Eligible costs include: salary-related costs for research staff; materials and consumables; a contribution of €2,000 towards the purchase of a computer. Grants will have a duration of up to 12 months. The duration of the supplemental grant cannot exceed the expiration date of the host grant.
Further information on this supplemental grant and how to apply is available here.
Contact: ecaterina.mcdonagh@dcu.ie
EIT Health have launched a new round of Accelerator and Education programmes, which close on 30th May and 27th June. The programmes are designed to provide participants with opportunities to learn new skills, connect with a network of experts, access new markets and finance and more. There are opportunities for a range of participants, including students, academic staff, contract researchers, healthcare professionals, entrepreneurs etc. Further details of the opportunities can be found on the EIT Health website.
Contact: Peter Olwell (peter.olwell@dcu.ie)
The Innovative Health Initiative (IHI) will be launching 2 calls in June 2022 - one single stage call, and one two stage call. IHI is publishing the draft topic texts in advance of the official call launch to give potential applicants additional time to start building a consortium and drafting a proposal. The following topics are under consideration:
IHI call 1 (single stage call)
- An innovative decision-support system for improved care pathways for patients with neurodegenerative diseases and comorbidities
- Next generation imaging and image-guided diagnosis and therapy for cancer
- Personalised oncology: Innovative people-centred, multi-modal therapies against cancer
- Access and integration of heterogeneous health data for improved health care in diseases areas of high unmet public health need
IHI call 2 (two stage call)
- Cardiovascular diseases – improved prediction, prevention, diagnosis and monitoring
- Setting a harmonised methodology to promote uptake of early feasibility studies for clinical and innovation excellence in the European Union
Currently, the draft topics are under consultation with IHI’s States Representatives Group and Science and Innovation Panel. It is therefore likely that the topics may change between now and the call launch, and applicants should check the final, approved topic texts once the calls are launched.
The IHI Programme Office is planning webinars and a brokerage event around the time of the call launch to help applicants with the new IHI rules and procedures.
Please see the IHI website for further information and updates.
Contact: Helen.burke@dcu.ie
The ECIU Research Institute for Smart European Regions (SMART-ER Project) has recently launched the second round of its Seed Programme and is inviting applications from researchers across member institutions to support European collaborative initiatives.
The SMART-ER Seed Programme aims to connect researchers in addressing common challenges related to UN Sustainable Development Goal 11 ‘Sustainable cities and communities’. Specifically the thematic priority areas identified by SMART-ER are: Energy & Sustainability; Transport & Mobility; Circular Economy; and Resilient Communities.
Within the Programme, funding is available through three Strategic Pilot Actions:
- Joint supervision agreements for doctoral students and industrial doctorates (Maximum available budget: €5,000)
- Blended mobility to create research networks (Maximum available budget: €25,000)
- Seed project funding for Challenge-based research (Maximum available budget: €50,000)
More information on each of the Actions and how to apply can be found on the ECIU website.
The closing date for applications is Friday 1st July 2022.
Contact:
Queries can be made directly to the SMART-ER Seed Programme team at: smarter_seed@ua.pt
For local enquiries, please contact Dr Emma McGrath: emma.mcgrath@dcu.ie