The Irish Research Council has opened a call for applications for its New Foundations research programme, which falls under the Government’s Shared Island initiative.
The New Foundations programme will support up to ten awards, with a maximum value of €20,000 each and will be funded by the Shared Island unit of the Department of the Taoiseach.
The Government’s Shared Island initiative is engaging with all communities and traditions on the island to build consensus around a shared future, underpinned by the Good Friday Agreement.
This strand of the New Foundations programme will fund research and related networking and collaboration that will contribute new knowledge or perspective to inform the implementation and development of the Government’s Shared Island initiative.
Proposals may be submitted by a Principal Investigator within an Eligible Higher Education Institution or Research Performing Organisation, and applicants should reference research partnerships, either North/South on the island of Ireland, East/West across these islands, or through an international collaboration with relevance for the island of Ireland and the Good Friday Agreement.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin TD said:
“I welcome the announcement of the Irish Research Council’s New Foundations 2021 programme, which includes a number of strands providing opportunities for researchers to work on important areas of Government policy.
“My Department is funding a strand on Shared Island to support up to 10 research projects, involving North/South and East/West collaboration, that can inform the implementation and further development of the Government’s Shared Island initiative.
“I encourage researchers to consider the contribution their expertise and collaborations could make to the Shared Island initiative. I look forward to seeing the contribution that the approved research proposals will make to political and public discourse on our shared future on the island underpinned by the Good Friday Agreement.”
Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris TD added:
“This is a really exciting announcement. Research can form the building blocks for greater cooperation across the island and offer opportunities to continue the conversation about our shared future.
“This call will fund 10 projects and will examine key issues of our shared island and the needs and opportunities for deepening North/South co-operation.
“My Department and I are proud to support this work.”
Director of the Irish Research Council, Peter Brown concluded:
“The Council is delighted to be working with the Shared Island initiative of the Department of the Taoiseach under the New Foundations scheme. The scheme provides an ideal vehicle to leverage the expertise in our research system to support the development of this important new policy unit within government.
“Core to the mandate of the Irish Research Council is partnership – with policy-makers, civil society, social and economic innovators – to support a better and more prosperous future. This new strand of New Foundations funded by the Shared Island unit represents an exciting new opportunity for engagement between researchers and policy-makers across a diverse range of themes.”
The call for applications for the New Foundations programme is open till 26 May 2021 at 4pm . Full details are available here.
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