This innovative joint funding scheme allows members of HRCI to support research addressing their research strategy, where they might otherwise not be in a position to finance the full cost of that research. While no differentiation is made between charities or disease areas, the scheme has been particularly beneficial for rare diseases where research being undertaken internationally may be limited and where charities wishing to contribute to the research agenda need to fund research projects led from outside Ireland.
Details of this scheme
The HRCI-HRB Joint Funding Scheme enables HRCI-registered research charities to support research of particular interest to specific patient populations. The scheme provides funding for research projects in disease areas that are of strategic relevance to individual HRCI-registered research charities.
Each HRCI-HRB Joint Funding Scheme award is worth up to €300,000 for a project of between 12 and 36 months’ duration. The award scheme may involve the co-funding of a single project by up to four Irish HRCI charities, or by one Irish HRCI charity and one international charity.
Both the HRB and HRCI wish to promote the active involvement of members of the public in the research areas that we fund. Therefore, we encourage public participation within the co-applicant and/or collaborator team (e.g. community groups, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), patient groups).
Participating charities will open calls for proposals through their respective websites/communications channels. Researchers who are interested in applying for this scheme should contact HRCI for further information.
Who can apply?
This call is open to HRB recognised Host Institutions on the island of Ireland and other non-Republic of Ireland Host Institutions.
Funding outside the island of Ireland is allowable where there is no established research capacity in Ireland (e.g. for the case of rare diseases).
Applications should be made on behalf of a team made up of researchers, knowledge user(s) and PPI contributors.
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.
The Lead Applicant must:
- Hold a post (permanent or a contract that covers the duration of the award) in a HRB recognised Host Institution in the Republic of Ireland or in their non-Republic of Ireland Host Institution (the “Host Institution”) as an independent investigator. For clinicians, an adjunct position in a HRB recognised Host Institution is acceptable. OR
- Be an individual who will be recognised by the Host Institution upon receipt of an award as an independent investigator who will have a dedicated office and research space for the duration of award, for which they will be fully responsible. The Lead Applicant does not necessarily need to be employed by the Host Institution at the time of the application submission.
How to apply:
HRCI-HRB 2026 will open for applications on 1 September 2025 at 13:00. Applications must be completed and submitted through the HRB online Grant E-Management System (GEMS) (https://grants.hrb.ie) by 26 November 2025. Note, individual charities may have an earlier closing date. Please submit your application before the relevant charity closing date.
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.
Contact:
All charity enquiries/information on participating charities:
Dr Sarah Delaney at the HRCI
Email: sarah@hrci.ie
Tel: +353 1 4793234
Webpage: http://www.hrci.ie/