Research Ireland funds research and innovation which pushes the boundaries of human knowledge and which contributes to economic, social, cultural and environmental development and sustainability in the State. This programme supports all disciplines across the full spectrum of endeavour—from curiosity-driven research that generates new knowledge, to applied research that seeks to develop solutions and innovations, including in the social and cultural domains.  

The 2025 Investigator Programme will consider proposals from established and emerging, independent researchers in any discipline seeking to carry out excellent research that delivers on the objectives of the programme.

The objectives of the Programme are: 

• To enable excellent researchers to undertake cutting-edge research to push the boundaries of knowledge. 
• To facilitate training and development across all research disciplines, including for PhD and postdoctoral researchers.  
• To increase Ireland’s capacity and reputation, and those of its research-performing institutions, for excellent research across all disciplines.  
• To support Ireland-based researchers, at all career stages, to leverage success in European and international funding programmes, including the European Research Council. 
• To retain and attract excellent research talent to Ireland.  
• To support partnerships that further enhance the opportunities for researchers to conduct collaborative research. 
• To support innovation in the Irish research system, and promote impact across the social, cultural, economic and environmental domains.

Applicants will have to choose whether they will be reviewed as part of an Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (AHSS) or Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) panel. 

The review process will involve two stages:

• Stage 1: Expression of Interest (EoI)
• Stage 2: Full Proposal  

The programme design is driven by feedback from the research community and will account for a high volume of applications across a broad range of research areas.  

Stage 1 is comprised of a short (4 page) EoI application that consists of Research Idea and Research Plan components. The Stage 1 review process will assess two criteria: 

• Research Idea: Reviewers will assess clarity, importance/significance, and originality/novelty of the question(s). If gaps in knowledge are being addressed and if the research area is well understood.  
• Research Plan: Reviewers will assess the clarity, importance, originality/novelty of the research aims; clarity, novelty and effectiveness of the research design; quality, novelty and appropriateness of methods/approach. Reviewers will also consider whether aims are feasible based on the proposed objectives and approach.   

The top ranked proposals from Stage 1 will be invited to Stage 2 to submit a full proposal.  

Stage 2 will comprise a full application; encompassing sections for applicant, research programme, and potential impact assessment. The Stage 2 review process will assess three criteria: 

• Applicant key achievements and research track record: Reviewers will assess the quality, significance and relevance of the applicant’s key achievements and research track record, as demonstrated in their narrative CV, commensurate with their career stage and research discipline, and taking any periods of leave into account.
• Research Programme: Reviewers will assess the quality, significance and novelty of the research programme. Reviewers will consider points such as: novelty, importance, timeliness of the intended research; communication and description of the research; comprehension of the current state of the art; clearly delineated roles of the team, collaborators and students; suitability and achievability of the programme based on the experience of the applicant(s) and team; appropriate use of the requested budget, the sex and gender dimension; data management etc.
• Potential Impact: Reviewers will review an Impact Statement and from this assess the applicant’s ability to demonstrate the potential impact and value to Ireland. Reviewers will consider points such as: Appreciation of how research may be developed and exploited; realistic and convincing evaluation of the benefits that will result from a successful project; potential to leverage success in European and International funding programmes; areas and fields where impacts are likely to be made. 

An outline of the full review process can be found in the call document. 

Handbooks for each stage will be provided and should be used in conjunction with the call document. 

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 must be independent investigators.  
• Applicants must be hosted by an Eligible Research Body. A list of Eligible Research Bodies is available here. 
• Postdoctoral researchers are not eligible to apply to this call. 
• For details on the criteria around the employment status of applicants, please see the Call Document, the Stage 1 Handbook, and the Who Can Apply policy on SFI.ie. 
• Further restrictions may apply if the applicants currently hold an SFI/IRC/Research Ireland grant or are under review for another Research Ireland Programme. Please see the Call Document for further details. 

For the Stage 2 application process only – Applicants who are invited to submit a full proposal (Stage 2) for review, can choose to be evaluated as an Emerging Investigator if, in addition to meeting all eligibility criteria, they:  

• Have not previously held a SFI, IRC, or Research Ireland research award of over €500,000 in direct costs; 
• Have had a period of eligible leave from research (e.g., following time spent in industry, statutory maternity leave, statutory adoptive leave, statutory parental leave, statutory paternity leave, carer’s leave, long-term medical illness, conscription).   

Although an applicant may meet the criteria of an Emerging Investigator, there is no obligation to apply under this category. 

At Stage 2, an Emerging Investigator 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. 

• Stage 1 (EoI) Handbook
• Stage 2 (Full Proposal) Handbook will be made available at a later date

Research Ireland reserves the right to make amendments to the programme documents if required. Please ensure to refer to the most recent version of the programme documentation. Research Offices will be contacted in the event of any updates to the call document or handbook. 

Lead Applicants on proposals must submit an Expression of Interest to Research Ireland through their host research body Research Office before the deadline of 17th September at 13:00 Irish local time. 

Applicants will have to choose whether they will be reviewed as part of an AHSS or STEM panel. The application forms will be identical, with the exception of the Primary Research Area selections.  

The application form will be made available on SESAME in August. This webpage will be updated as soon as the form is available on SESAME, and Research Offices will be alerted. 

If accessing SESAME for the first time, researchers should contact their local Research Office to be set up on this system. More information on SESAME is available on SFI.ie. 

Queries on SESAME should first be directed to your Institute’s Research Office. If still unresolved, queries should be emailed to sesame@researchireland.ie  (Please be aware that response time for queries may be up to 5 working days). 

Please note that Research Ireland is expecting a very high volume of applications to this programme, and has limited SESAME helpdesk resources. To avoid any delays in submission, researchers should familiarise themselves with the SESAME system and online help resources provided well in advance of the Research Ireland and institution internal call deadlines.

An information webinar will take place in late August. Details will be available on this webpage once available.