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HRB-DOH Evidence for Policy (EfP) Programme 2024

The Evidence for Policy (EfP) Programme is a new collaborative initiative between the HRB and the Department of Health (DOH) to support research projects that aim to strengthen the evidence base for policy development and evaluation of policy implementation by the DOH.

The aim is to generate evidence to inform policy making in health and social care in a timely, rigorous, high quality, open and transparent manner. To deliver this, the EfP funding scheme will support high quality, internationally competitive research that addresses evidence gaps that are a priority for health and social care policy. In doing so it aims to develop capacity to respond in a timely manner to priority research questions for policy makers, supporting integrated knowledge translation and collaboration between the policy and research communities.

This call is the first round of the EfP initiative and invites research proposals to address a range of topics/questions proposed by the DoH. A list of eight topics with detailed specification of each topic is provided in the scheme guidance notes.

Please note that an additional topic has been included since the pre-announcement of the call in December.

Details of this scheme:

The objective of the call is to assist colleagues in DOH who are formulating, developing or evaluating policy by:

  • providing evidence to inform policy development and implementation in timely and accessible ways, including assessment of its potential impact and cost-effectiveness,
  • evaluating existing policies or experimental pilots before policies are fully implemented.

Evidence requirements within specific areas of policy making or evaluation of policy are set out within this call, and applications are accepted which address these issues.

Individual projects can be funded at a cost of up to €300,000 direct costs (exclusive of overheads), with a maximum duration of 24 months. Lower cost projects are also encouraged as HRB-DOH are keen to develop a mixed portfolio of projects in terms of scale and duration.

The programme welcomes applications using a broad range of methodologies including primary and secondary research, and it will be up to the research team to identify and justify the chosen methodology.

Who can apply?:

The objective of this initiative is to provide opportunities for researchers to bring their wealth of experience and expertise to EfP. We also welcome teams with relevant skills who are new to research for policy, to widen the pool of researchers nationally who are able to generate evidence to inform health and social care policy, adding to capacity and capability in this vital area.

Applicants must have a suitable track record and demonstrate clearly that the research team contains the necessary breadth and depth of expertise in all methodological areas required for the development and delivery of the proposed project.

How to apply:

All applications must be made using the HRB Grant Electronic Management System (GEMS). GEMS will close automatically at the deadline.

The application must have been reviewed and approved by the signatory approver at the research office (or equivalent) in the host institution before it is submitted to the HRB. Therefore, applicants should ensure that they give the signatory approver sufficient time before the scheme closing date to review the application and approve it on GEMS. Please note that many host institutions specify internal deadlines for this procedure.

Apply for this award:

Contact us:

Contact: David Connolly

Email: EfP(at) hrb.ie