Research Ireland will fund projects under four out of the five call priority areas only:

• Priority area 1: Digital Twins of the Ocean (DTOs) at sub-basin scale
• Priority area 3: Climate-Smart Planning and managing sea-uses at the regional level
• Priority area 4: Blue Bioresources: sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, and new bio-based products
• Priority area 5: Resilient Coastal Communities and Businesses

Pre-proposals submitted to Research Ireland under Priority Area 2 ‘Transitioning the blue economy sectors, and the development of the coexistence and the marine multi-use infrastructures’ will be deemed ineligible.

Awarded projects will have a duration of up to 36 months. For applicants based in Ireland, Research Ireland will provide the following funding for projects:

• Up to a maximum of €330,000 direct costs* per award for Irish applicants as Partner on transnational proposals.
• Up to a maximum of €405,000 direct costs* per award for Irish applicants as Coordinator on transnational proposals.

*The maximum total award, including overhead contribution, will be €430,000, for a partner and €530,000 for applicants who take on the role of coordinator.

• Salary-related costs for research personnel. Please use current Research Ireland Team Member Salary Scales. The Irish partner cannot request their own salary.
• Equipment costs up to a maximum value of €50K
• Travel costs
• Direct running costs (materials and consumables)
• Dissemination and knowledge exchange costs
• Subcontracting costs are considered an eligible budget category however strong justification for subcontracting must be provided and pre-approved directly with Research Ireland in advance of proposal submission.
• Overheads should be calculated at 30% of the direct costs, but excluding the cost of all equipment identified in the application.

Unless otherwise stated, all rules regarding listed eligible costs apply as defined within Research Ireland’s grant budget policy

Ineligible costs

Research Ireland will not provide a contribution towards the salary of the applicant, international co-applicants or collaborators. All additional ineligible costs apply as described in Research Ireland’s grant budget policy.

Only an academic partner or coordinator based in an eligible Irish Host Research body may apply for Research Ireland funding.

The Irish-based applicant must:

• hold a PhD or equivalent qualification for at least 3 years by the pre-proposal deadline. The official date is defined as the day, month and year that the degree was conferred i.e., the month and year printed on the official PhD certificate.

AND

• be a member of the academic staff of an eligible Research Body (permanent or with an active contract that covers the period of the grant)

OR

• be a contract researcher with a contract that covers the period of the grant, who is recognised by the eligible Research Body as an independent investigator and will have an independent office and research space for which he/she will be fully responsible for at least the duration of the Research Ireland grant

OR

• be an individual who will be recognised by the eligible Research Body upon receipt of the grant as an academic staff or as a contract researcher as defined above. The applicant does not necessarily need to be employed by the Research Body at the time of the application submission.

AND

• be an author on at least three international peer-reviewed articles. Only original research publications, and not review articles or other secondary research literature, are acceptable.

Applicants must also meet all general eligibility and consortium requirements as outlined in the Call Text procedures.

In addition:

• Research Ireland will only accept one application per applicant.

21 July, 2025: Pre-announcement of the call

15 September, 2025: Publication of the call

17 November, 2025 (15:00 CET): Deadline for pre-proposal submission

Mid-March, 2026: Communication of the results of the pre-proposal assessment and invitation to the full-proposal stage

17 June, 2026 ( 15:00 CET): Deadline for full-proposal submission

End-October, 2026: Communication of the funding decisions to the applicants

January to June, 2027: Expected project start (according to regional/national funding regulations)

Please give a brief notification of your intent to submit a pre-proposal through email to eu-cofund@researchireland.ie before the submission deadline. Within the notification, please include the following information:

• List of project partners

• Irish Host institution*

• Total budget request to Research Ireland

• Whether you intend to apply as a coordinating or non-coordinating partner

 *Please note it is also the responsibility of the applicant to notify the Research Office of their Host Institution of their intention to submit a pre-proposal.

The completed pre-proposal must be submitted directly on the SBEP submission platform.