Research Ireland Frontiers for the Future Programme

• To build research capacity, expertise and reputation through funding excellent scientific research .  
• To fund highly innovative Awards with strong potential for economic and societal impact and to provide the opportunity to conduct high-risk, high-reward Projects. 
• To provide additional supports for excellent woman researchers to secure funding. 
• To retain and improve Ireland’s reputation as a place to carry out excellent research. 
• To facilitate researchers based in Ireland to lead consortia and to win further support through various non-Exchequer funding schemes . 
• To allow Ireland-based researchers to win top-tier international prizes. 
• To develop an integrated research ecosystem through partnerships with other agencies. 
• To support the growth and development of research capacity for the Technological University and Institute of Technology sector. 
• To support relevant collaborations and partnerships, and attract talent from outside of the Republic of Ireland. 
• To support researchers returning to active academic research after a period of eligible leave. 

Full details on eligibility are available in the Call Document. In summary: 

• Applicants must have held a PhD or equivalent qualification for at least three years by proposal submission. 
• Applicants are required to have demonstrated that they have been a senior author on at least three international peer-reviewed articles (see the Call Document for details). 
• For details on the criteria around the employment status of applicants, please see the Call Document. 
• For applicant eligibility details for the Research Ireland-CHF collaboration please see Appendix B in the Call Document. 
• Lead Applicant or Co-Applicant salary is not an eligible cost for the Programme. Applicants must obtain their salary either from an award in their own name (excluding fellowship-type awards) or be salaried by the host institution. Postdoctoral researchers (or equivalent) are not eligible to apply to this call. 
• Applicants must be independent researchers hosted by an Eligible Research Body.  
• Further restrictions may apply if the applicants currently hold a Research Ireland grant or are under review for another Research Ireland Programme. Please see the Call Document for further details. 
• Applicants who hold joint appointments must contact FFP@researchireland.ie in advance of submission with details of those appointments. 
• Applicants requesting a budget in excess of €1,000,000 must contact FFP@researchireland.ie ahead of submission for approval. 

Emerging Investigator Category 

Applicants to the Programme who fulfil the eligibility criteria listed above can choose to be reviewed as an “Emerging Investigator” if they also: 

• have not previously held a significant Research Ireland research award or 
• have had a period of eligible leave from research 

Please note that if you are applying for consideration in the Research Ireland-CHF collaboration, there are specific eligibility criteria for emerging investigators. Please see Appendix B in the Call Document for details. 

The “Emerging Investigator” category will be assessed alongside and against the same criteria as all other applicants; however, the weighting of the review scores will mean that there is increased emphasis on the quality of the research over the track record. 

The application form for the Programme Awards Stream is currently available on SESAME. 

A recording of an information webinar outlining the Programme and its application process is available on YouTube here.  

Research Ireland is a signatory to the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA). As such, Research Ireland is aligning its review and evaluation processes with DORA principles. To this end, all types of research output are recognised by Research Ireland and we are committed to assessing the quality and impact of research through means other than journal impact factors. Research Ireland has developed a Narrative CV template to assist with compliance to DORA principles. Furthermore, in the spirit of supporting open research and as a signatory of Plan S, Research Ireland will positively consider where there is a commitment to making data and other types of research open and accessible. 

Applications will be reviewed under three key review criteria: 

1.Quality, significance and relevance of the applicant’s and co-applicant’s key achievements and research track record, commensurate with their career stage and research discipline, taking any periods of leave into account and considering the quality and relevance of the collaborators and/or mentor.  

The following areas will be considered:  

• Generation of Knowledge 
• Development of Individuals and Collaboration 
• Supporting Broader Society and the Economy  
• Supporting the Research Community 

For the Emerging Investigator category, weighting of the review scores will mean that there is increased emphasis on the quality of the research over the track record. 

 2. Quality, significance, novelty, and strategic relevance of the research plan 

Including importance, timeliness of the proposed research; quality of institutional support; communication and description of the research; comprehension of the current state of the art; value for money, the Sex and Gender dimension, etc. 

3. Potential impact and value to Ireland 

Including appreciation of how research may be developed and exploited in the medium-to-long term; realistic and convincing evaluation of the benefits that will result from a successful project; areas and fields where impacts are likely to be made etc. 

Applicants to the Research Ireland-CHF Collaboration, please see Appendix B in the Call Document for score weighting associated with this co-funding opportunity. 

 Impact Webinar  

An Impact Webinar, designed to assist applicants in formulating their Impact Statement, is available on the Science Foundation Ireland website. Applicants are encouraged to view this webinar in advance of preparing an application to the programme.