Co-funding and partnerships

The HRB recognises that health research involves a very wide range of scientific, academic and clinical disciplines, as well as academic researchers, healthcare professionals, the education sector, the life sciences industry, and charitable groups. 

To deliver the broad portfolio of co-funded awards and partnerships, listed below, the HRB works closely with:

Charities

The HRCI-HRB Joint Funding Scheme is a co-funding collaboration between the HRB and charities that hold membership of the Health Research Charities Ireland (HRCI). Awards are made up to a maximum total value of €300,000 for projects ranging between 12 and 36 months in duration. HRCI member charities co-fund projects with the HRB in a 50:50 or 75:25 partnership. It is also possible for a number of charities with a similar research question they wish to address to come together in a single project co-funded with the HRB.

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The National Children’s Hospital Foundation Scheme (NCHF) aims to fund researchers and research teams to conduct excellent and innovative research in areas aligned with objectives of the National Children’s Hospital which demonstrates relevance for the patients of the hospital as well as to the national child population. 

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Funding agencies

Through the Fulbright-HRB Health Impact Awards the Fulbright Commission and the HRB offer a unique opportunity for Irish professionals with 5 years or more experience to travel to the U.S. to undertake research or professional development in any area of health policy or healthcare delivery.

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The National Cancer Institute (NCI) Summer Curriculum is co-funded under the All-Ireland Cancer Consortium between the HRB, the US NCI in Bethesda, Maryland and the Health and Social Care (HSC) Research and Development Office in Northern Ireland. Since 2001, the NCI Summer Curriculum in cancer prevention includes a four-week course on principles and practice of cancer prevention and a one-week course on molecular prevention.

The course on principles and practice is particularly relevant for policy makers, service providers and thought leaders, but would be of interest to a broader audience. The course on molecular prevention is highly relevant to researchers at an early or middle stage of their career, but also to some senior staff involved in provision of cancer services or teaching.

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The National Cancer Institute (NCI) Cancer Prevention Fellowship Programme (CPFP) is co-funded under the All-Ireland Cancer Consortium between the HRB, the US NCI in Bethesda, Maryland and the Health and Social Care (HSC) Research and Development Office in Northern Ireland. Since 2005, the NCI CPFP interdisciplinary postdoctoral training programme provides opportunities for individuals from a wide range of health-related disciplines to learn the principles and practices of cancer prevention and control. 

The programme provides:

  • Up to 4 years of financial support
  • Master of Public Health (MPH) or an equivalent degree at any one-year accredited university program
  • NCI Summer Curriculum in Cancer Prevention
  • Mentored research opportunities at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) or Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
  • Professional development and leadership training

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The National Cancer Institute (NCI) Project Development Grant is co-funded under the All-Ireland Cancer Consortium between the HRB, the US NCI in Bethesda, Maryland and the Health and Social Care (HSC) Research and Development Office in Northern Ireland. The overarching aim of the Cancer Nursing Research Project Development Grant scheme is to build capacity in cancer nursing research. The objective of this scheme is to help prepare competitive applications to relevant funding schemes from nurses caring for people with cancer in a healthcare setting or education facility through carrying out the necessary preparatory work or small scale research study. Candidates should aspire to integrate research evidence into their clinical work, and to generate some such evidence themselves.

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The Public Patient Involvement-Ignite (PPI Ignite) scheme is co-funded by the Irish Research Council and the HRB. These two agencies recognise the importance of meaningful public and patient involvement and engagement (PPI) in health research. The aim of the PPI Ignite scheme is to support and promote capacity building for high quality PPI in health research in HRB approved Host Institutions. The objectives of the PPI Ignite Awards are:

  • To broaden the group of health researchers across all disciplines who meaningfully involve and engage members of the public and patients in their research in accordance with the core principles and values of PPI. 
  • To improve the quality of PPI approaches in Irish health and social care research and promote interactions that are seen as fruitful and beneficial by both researchers and PPI contributors.  Given the increasing emphasis on patient and/or public involvement in research in European research funding, PPI Ignite aims to assist in enhancing the capacity of the Irish research system to collaborate internationally and be more competitive.

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Since 2010 HRB has been working in partnership with Wellcome and SFI to co-fund biomedical research in the Republic of Ireland under the auspices of the SFI-HRB-Wellcome Biomedical Research Partnership. The vision of Wellcome (formerly The Wellcome Trust), the UK-based global charity, is to achieve extraordinary improvements in human and animal health. In line with our strategic objectives HRB engages in a number of partnerships with other funders to support research that is driven by excellence and originality, providing the seed-corn of intellectual and human capital that will be needed for future generations.

The Partnership includes career awards targeted at early, mid and senior researchers, as well as project-based funding (Collaborative and Seed Awards), and has included funding at institutional level (Institutional Strategic Support Fund). Details of awards made to date are available here.  Awards made under this Partnership to researchers in the Republic of Ireland are funded 50% by Wellcome, 25% by HRB and 25% by SFI.

All applications are made directly to Wellcome who manages the application and review processes for applications made under this partnership. Due to their size and strategic importance to HRB and the SFI, prospective applicants for Wellcome’s Principal Research Fellows (PRFs) must first submit an Expression of Interest to HRB and SFI.

Details of how to apply for all awards under the Partnership are available on our call announcement page. Applicants for all schemes are strongly encouraged to contact Wellcome for advice in advance of submission.

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This scheme is no longer running.

The TRA scheme  is a co-funding partnership between the HRB and SFI, with reference to the Health Action Plan 2009. The initiative focuses resources in areas that offer the greatest potential for translation into impacts and benefits for health and long term economic development, as well as for more efficient and effective collaboration between academics and healthcare professionals engaged in translational research. The purpose of these awards is to enable researchers to establish and support teams working full time on extensive or long-term research programmes that have a clear link to patient care.

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The Ulysses scheme is a collaboration between France and Ireland. In France, it is funded by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and administered by the Embassy of France in Ireland and Campus France, the leading French agency for international mobility.  In Ireland, the scheme is co-funded by the Irish Research Council and the HRB, and administered by the Irish Research Council. The programme facilitates the exchange of innovative ideas and approaches between Irish and French researchers and the development of mutual research projects involving young Irish researchers visiting France and reciprocal visits involving young French researchers to Ireland.

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HRB, together with Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), is supporting the participation of researchers from the Republic of Ireland in applications to the National Institute of Health (NIH) under the US Ireland R&D Partnership.

The overall goal of the Partnership is to increase the level of collaborative R&D amongst researchers across three jurisdictions: the United States, Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. This collaboration aims to generate valuable discoveries and innovations which are transferable to the marketplace, or will lead to enhancements in health, disease prevention or healthcare. In line with our strategic objectives HRB engages in a number of partnerships with other funders to support research that is driven by excellence and originality, create new knowledge that, over time, will help to address the major health challenges in society and have an impact on tomorrow’s healthcare.

The Partnership supports tri‐partite research projects in which agencies fund research undertaken in their own jurisdiction. These projects must demonstrate significant value above that achievable by the researcher in each jurisdiction working alone. In 2016 HRB and SFI and the Northern Ireland partners agreed changes to the scheme to simplify the application process, and to expand the scope of the scheme to any area within the NIH remit (1). Applications are submitted to the NIH review process, and if successful, the research for the Republic of Ireland component will be funded by HRB and SFI on a 50:50 basis.

The scheme is aimed at mid-career and senior-career stage researchers, and up to €700,000 direct costs are available per project for the Republic of Ireland research component.

 

All applications are made directly to NIH by the US Principal Investigator, however the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland researchers must submit documentation to their respective funding bodies at least 10 weeks in advance of the NIH deadline.

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1. The following will be not be considered for funding by RoI and NI funding agencies under this programme:

  • Applications from individuals applying for, holding, or employed under a research grant from the tobacco industry
  • Research intended to create human embryos solely for the purpose of research or for the purpose of stem cell procurement, including by means of somatic cell nuclear transfer

 

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Philanthropic organisations

The All Ireland Institute for Hospice and Palliative Care (AIIHPC) was established in 2010 by a consortium of funders including The Atlantic Philanthropies, The Irish Hospice Foundation, The Irish Cancer Society, Health and Social Care (HSC) Research and Development Office in Northern Ireland and the HRB.   AIIHPC is a collaborative of hospices, health and social care organisations and universities on the island of Ireland. AIIHPC advances education, research and practice to improve the palliative care experience of people with life limiting conditions and their families.

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The HRB collaborates with The Atlantic Philanthropies (AP) and the Department of Health to support a programme of work in Applied Dementia Research. One of three elements of this collaboration is funding for applied research projects in dementia that address questions of clear strategic relevance to the National Dementia Strategy. Projects funded by this scheme focus on question(s) of clear strategic relevance and importance for Ireland and provide a compelling case as to why the work needs to be conducted in Ireland. Projects were encouraged to involve collaborations between researchers, health and social care providers, carers, voluntary organisations and other institutions.

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The HRB collaborates with The Atlantic Philanthropies (AP) and the Department of Health to support a programme of work in Applied Dementia Research. One of three elements of this collaboration is funding for capacity building awards at doctoral, post-doctoral and professorial levels. This scheme develops Irish research capacity in dementia. A number of posts are supported, including four PhD scholars in dementia research through the SPHeRE programme, a targeted Interdisciplinary Capacity Enhancement (ICE) award in dementia research, and a Research Leader Award in dementia research.

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The HRB collaborates with The Atlantic Philanthropies (AP) and the Department of Health to support a programme of work in Applied Dementia Research. One of three elements of this collaboration is the Dementia and Neurodegeneration Ireland Nework - a research and practice knowledge exchange network to bring dementia-related researchers, practitioners, policymakers, patients, families and other stakeholders together. The aim is to promote dementia research, support better use of research and provide a collective voice for researchers in wider policy debate.

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Health partners

The HRB, Health Service Executive (HSE) and the Royal College of Physicians in Ireland (RCPI) collaborate to deliver the RCQPS with the aim of promoting quality and patient safety research in the Irish healthcare system. The scheme provides seed funding to prioritised projects emerging from the national clinical programmes and other stakeholders. 

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Since 2002 the HRB and Health and Social Care (HSC) Research and Development Office in Northern Ireland have collaborated since 2002 to support systematic reviews of evidence to underpin healthcare decision making through the Cochrane Collaboration. In 2002, the island of Ireland became the first place in the world to provide free access for all citizens to the Cochrane Library through a joint funding initiative.  In addition to providing and promoting free national access to the Cochrane Library, the HRB and HSC funded a Cochrane Training Fellowship programme to build capacity on the island of Ireland in conducting systematic reviews for inclusion in the Cochrane Library.

In 2017, the HRB and HSC developed a new model for delivering capacity building initiatives in evidence synthesis - Capacity Building for Evidence Synthesis (CBES) Award. The new model will facilitate timely and relevant evidence based decision making.

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This scheme is no longer running. 

This collaboration between the Medical Council and the HSE Medical Education and Training Unit was designed to both address policy needs and foster research capacity in the sector in Ireland. The MERG scheme aims to support quality development in medical education and training delivery for the benefit of the public, the health services and the medical profession. 

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The HRB collaborates with the HSE Medical Education and Training Unit, with support from The National Forum of Postgraduate Training Bodies, to fund the NSAFP. The scheme was developed and launched in direct response to the recommendations of the Buttimer Report on Postgraduate Medical Education (2006).

The objective of the NSAFP is to provide fellowships, on a competitive basis, to medical graduates who wish to complete an integrated programme of research and clinical training leading to both a PhD and a Certificate of Satisfactory Completion of Specialist Training (CSCST).

 

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The HRB collaborates with the Department of Health to fund a research programme for safe staffing and skill mix for nursing.  This research programme builds on the pilot implementation and evaluation of the Safe Nursing Staffing Framework in medical and surgical inpatient wards in acute hospitals to include a longitudinal analysis of the national implementation, impact and cost of the Framework as well as to develop and evaluate a Safe Nursing Staffing Framework for two additional areas within the Irish healthcare System. 

This funding scheme is set against the backdrop of the publication of the Interim Report and Recommendations on Safe Nurse Staffing and Skill Mix for General and Specialist Medical and Surgical Care Settings in Acute Adult Hospitals in February 2016  (Department of Health, 2016).

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The overarching aim of the Cancer Nursing Research Project Development Grant scheme is to build capacity in cancer nursing research. The objective of this scheme is to help nurses engaged in the care for people with cancer in a healthcare setting or education facility in applying for a small scale research study. The proposed research should focus on one of the following areas relevant to cancer control:

Quality of Life - from diagnosis to survivorship; Patient outcomes; Communication - patient information and education; Psycho-social wellbeing & support.

These cancer nursing research priorities were identified by the Nurse Working Group in collaboration with the National Cancer Control Programme and Health Service Executive in the A Strategy and Educational Framework for Nurses caring for People with Cancer in Ireland (2012).

 

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The National Clinical Effectiveness Committee (NCEC) is a ministerial-appointed committee established in 2010 as part of the Patient Safety First Initiative which is supported by the Clinical Effectiveness Unit (CEU), Department of Health. The NCEC has a remit to establish and implement processes for the prioritisation and quality assurance of clinical guidelines and clinical audit that will become part of a suite of National Clinical Guidelines and National Clinical Audit.

The HRB-CICER scheme is a strategic collaboration between HRB, NCEC and the CEU to develop a model that supports the work of the NCEC in providing evidence for health care services in Ireland.  The scheme aims to deliver the systematic clinical effectiveness and economic literature reviews and the budget impact analysis for NCEC-prioritised guidelines, working closely with the CEU and its nominated committees.

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European co-funding initiatives

The HRB engages in a number of Joint Programming Initiatives (JPIs) aim to pool national research efforts to make better use of Europe's limited public research and development resources and tackle common European challenges more effectively.

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The HRB participates in European Research Area networks which are networks of public research organisations that coordinate joint activities in research areas which are of significant strategic value and relevance to the EU.

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The INTERREG VA Programme for 2014-2020 is one of 60 programmes across the European Union designed to promote greater levels of cross-border co-operation. 
The HRB and HSC R&D and Public Health Agency in Northern Ireland are partners in a project called - Cross-Border Healthcare Intervention Trials in Ireland Network (CHITIN) -  which funds 10 healthcare intervention trials in Northern Ireland and border region in Ireland worth €8.8 million.

This project funds trials that will allow participation in trials outside of major centres in bigger cities in a broader range of settings, including primary care, regional hospitals and the community.

The project will help develop and expand research infrastructure and deliver training that enhance capability to do further research. It will also enhance all-Ireland partnerships for researchers and health professionals.

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