The Health Research Board (HRB) is among the funders of €107 million (US$126 million) in new investments to power AI-enabled evidence synthesis for sustainable development, announced at the United Nations Strategic Development Goals (SDG) Forum, in New York at the weekend.

The HRB will soon announce a new €6 million investment to support, strengthen and connect the evidence synthesis community on the island of Ireland.

This builds on, and expands, the HRB’s previous investments in this space, a key feature of which is the requirement to align with the principles, and integrate into, the activities of ESIC.

The announcement at the SDG forum marks a significant milestone in the launch of the Evidence Synthesis Infrastructure Collaborative (ESIC)* Roadmap and the Cape Town Consensus Charter, both of which lay out a strategic plan and roadmap to harness AI and evidence synthesis to support the achievement UN’s SDGs.

Dr Teresa Maguire, HRB Director of Research Strategy and Funding, who attended the forum, said:

“We are living in an era where static publications and reviews cannot keep pace with the needs of decision-makers or the speed of misinformation. AI-enabled evidence synthesis offers transformative potential to rapidly translate research and evidence into actionable insights that can be tailored to local contexts.

“At the same time, there are valid concerns that AI bias can exacerbate existing societal inequalities and lead to poor decisions that affect people’s lives. The Evidence Synthesis Infrastructure Collaborative will address a critical gap by combining AI capabilities with human expertise to transform how evidence is synthesised, analysed and communicated.

“Our involvement aligns with the HRB’s ambition to ensure research evidence informs policy and practice both nationally and globally.”

The HRB is part of the ESIC Funders Interest Group (FIG), along with the Wellcome Trust, Jacobs Foundation, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), and the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).

The FIG, of which Dr Maguire is a member, is part of ESIC, which fosters global partnerships among policy stakeholders, funders, and researchers.

The HRB will provide updates on the ESIC initiative, on our website and social channels.

* The Evidence Synthesis Infrastructure Collaborative is a global initiative designed to accelerate progress towards the UN SDGs by enabling faster, more coordinated learning through AI-powered evidence synthesis. It was formally launched in 2025, following a six-month planning process involving over 200 contributors.