Our Strategy
View the full Strategy
Ireland has transformed its research and innovation capacity over the last 25 years, with a higher volume and quality of research outputs, more PhD-trained researchers, growth in private R&D investment, and increased impact of research on public policy and societal well-being.
However, international competition is intense, with many countries growing investment in research and actively connecting their research and innovation systems.
In response, Research Ireland will ensure the continued development of Ireland’s research and innovation proposition.
We will:
- invest across the breadth of disciplines, and support discovery research.
- invest to enable the attraction, retention and development of research talent,the growth of our economy, and the delivery of societal impact which improves quality of lives.
- focus on strengthening connections between academia, enterprise, public policy, and society.
- work in partnership with all key stakeholders to ensure increased ambition, improved alignment and a proactive approach to maximising benefit for Ireland.
- support trained researchers bringing their skills and expertise from academia to the private and public sectors; the attraction and further embedding of foreign direct investment; the development of scaling spin-out companies; improved policy making and society; and an enriched culture.
Research and innovation are critical to Ireland’s societal and economic future.
The strategy is based on three pillars – Talent, Economy and Society:
Talent – Empowering People
Actions:
- Enhanced Suite of PhD Programmes
- Predictable Funding Programmes at all Careers Stages
- Mobility Programmes
- International Recruitment
- Research Infrastructure
Economy – Strengthening Competitiveness
Actions:
- Research Centres
- Research Translation and Commercialisation
- Enterprise-academic Partnerships
- Regional Partnerships
- Future Skills Needs
Society – Driving Solutions
Actions:
- Interdisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Research
- Cross Sectoral Engagement and Collaboration
- Delivery Agency for Government’s R&I Ambitions
- Public Engagement
- Diverse Skills and Training
“Over the coming five years, we will focus on strengthening the talent pipeline, supporting FDI investment and indigenous capability, and fostering greater innovation-driven collaboration, all of which underpins our future competitiveness and societal wellbeing. Acting as a leader, partner and connector across the research and innovation ecosystem, our measure of success is impact: a stronger, more resilient Ireland, and an innovation system that earns its place among the best in the world.”
Case Studies
Delivering Ireland’s Talent Pipeline for Global Pharma Leadership
“Through a PhD-related industrial placement with APC Ltd. and VLE Therapeutics, I worked with highly skilled, multidisciplinary, and technical scientists, across bioengineering, innovation, and commercial teams. Building these strong relationships and upskilling in new areas while also seeing how research can translate to commercial value and patient impact is hugely valuable for my career development.” - Laura Foley, University of Limerick
Global Influence in the Mission for Accountability in AI
“A future where human dignity, justice, and rights guide AI development is possible. Continual dialogues and meaningful measures for accountability in the development and deployment of AI systems is central to achieving this.” - Dr Abeba Birhane, Trinity College Dublin
From Curiosity to Global Impact
“It always strikes me how devastating a diagnosis can be for people. I want to give people hope. I want them to know scientists are working on options that could help in the future.” - Prof. Luke O’Neill, Trinity College Dublin
Driving Discovery to the World’s First Silicon-based Quantum Computer Server
“The Research Ireland Professorship Programme enabled me to move to Ireland to build an expert team in UCD. Commercialising this research through Equal1 has helped put Ireland at the forefront of global quantum research and innovation.” - Prof. R. Bogdan Staszewski, University College Dublin
Funding Innovation to Cut Agricultural Emissions Research
“The Challenge funding model enabled Farm Zero C to put the farmer at the centre of the solution, and informed how we pivoted our resources within BiOrbic, which shaped our vision for this project.” - Prof. James Gaffey, Munster Technological University