Applications in progress

Investigator-led Clinical Trials (ILCT) Programme 2025 (formerly DIFA).

The Cycle 1 submission deadline was in April 2025. 15 eligible applications were received. The Panel Meeting to review applications held in October 2025 and on 06 November, the HRB Board approved 4 applications for funding (2 Definitive Intervention and 2 Feasibility studies). Applicants have been notified, and contracting will commence shortly.

European Partnership on Transforming Health and Care Systems (THCS) 2025

The panel met in September and funding decisions are being finalised.

European Rare Diseases Research Alliance  JTC 2025 The panel met in September and funding decisions are now finalised. Successful applicants have been contacted for contracting.

The PPI Ignite Network (PPI-IN) 2026

The PPI Ignite Network will support and further build capacity for high-quality PPI in health and social care research throughout Ireland. This grant will provide funding for a further 5-year phase of a PPI Ignite Network. The HRB Board approved the panel recommendation for funding and contracting is underway.

Investigator-Led Projects (ILP) 2026 

The ILP scheme aims to support highly innovative and internationally competitive investigator-led projects that can respond to existing and emerging challenges for health and social care. The ILP provides funding for clearly defined research projects in: (i) Patient-oriented research (POR), (ii) Population health research (PHR), and (iii) Health services research (HSR).

145 out 147 applications have been deemed eligible and are currently under peer and public review.

Summer Student Scholarships (SS) 2026

The HRB received 176 applications. The HRB team is currently checking for eligibility which will be completed by the end of January 2026. The randomisation of applications for funding allocation is planned for February 2026, followed by the approval stage and communication of the outcome to applicants and host institutions.

HRCI-HRB Joint Funding Scheme 2026

The HRCI-HRB Joint Funding Scheme aims to fund researchers and research teams to conduct internationally competitive and innovative research in areas of strategic relevance to each individual HRCI-registered co-funding charity. 45 eligible applications received from nine co-funding charities are now undergoing peer review.

Collaborative Postdoctoral Fellowships Programmes (CPFP) 2026

The CPFP scheme aims to support health and social care researchers from various disciplinary backgrounds who are based in an academic setting and have a PhD or an equivalent level of research experience. The scheme uses a team-based funding model designed to support groups of postdoctoral researchers working together on a common research programme.

Applications are invited from a ‘collaborative’ group of experienced researchers, led by the leadership team, proposing an overarching interdisciplinary research programme to be delivered by three early-career postdoctoral fellows.

The deadline for pre-applications was 17 December 2025.

HRB hosted a webinar for interested applicants based in Ireland on in October and the recording and slides are available to view here.

Open Calls

Secondary Data Analysis Projects (SDAP 2025) 

The Secondary Data Analysis Projects (SDAP) are designed to bring together researchers, knowledge users and data controllers to develop research projects that answer policy and/or practice-relevant questions by using secondary data.

The SDAP 2025 Scheme has two separate application cycles. Cycle 1 has been completed with the Panel occurring in September and 6 applications recommended for funding. All applicants to Cycle 1 have received their outcome letters.

Cycle 2 opened for applications on 1 September 2025 and will close on 9 January 2026 at 13:00. Applicants that have been unsuccessful in Cycle 1, will have the opportunity to re-apply to Cycle 2, once they’ve taken onboard the feedback from reviewers and implemented any necessary changes to improve their proposal.

The HRB hosted an in-person SDAP Seminar on 26 March 2025. Slides from the event are available on the call web page, which also includes a summary of the event. There were several presentations from previous SDAP grant holders which provided an insight into the depth of projects that can apply to the scheme and excellent inspiration regarding the impact these projects have had. Several data holders also presented their datasets and how they could be utilised in the scheme-their contact details are available on the slide decks.

Research in-Practice Fellowships for Health and Social Care Practitioners (RPF) 2026

The RPF scheme aims to support health and social care practitioners who wish to advance their research skills at post-PhD level while continuing to deliver patient or social care. It targets practitioners from a variety of professional backgrounds, who are interested in advancing applied health and social care research aimed at finding practical solutions to specific problems.

The deadline for applications is 13 February 2026.

HRB hosted a webinar for interested applicants based in Ireland on in October and the recording and slides are available to view here.

US-Ireland Research and Development Partnership Programme

This is a rolling call. The call guidance has been updated and can be found here. Check the scheme notice for full details – US-Ireland R&D Partnership Programme.

European Partnership for Personalised Medicine (EPPerMed) Research, Innovation and Technology Call (RITC) 2026

This is a two-stage joint transnational call entitled “Test and Demonstration of Multimodal Data Approaches for Personalised Medicine (MultiPMData2026)”. The pre-proposal submission deadline is 12 January 2026 at 13:00 GMT.

HRB hosted a webinar for interested applicants based in Ireland on 4 November 2025. Slides are available to view here.

European Partnership on One Health Antimicrobial Resistance (OHAMR) 2026

This is a two-stage call entitled “Treatments and Adherence to Treatment protocols (OH-TREAT)”. The pre-proposal submission deadline is 2 February 2026 at 12:00 GMT.

European Partnership on Transforming Health and Care Systems (THCS) 2026

This is a two-stage call entitled “Access to Care”. The pre-proposal submission deadline is 2 February 2026 at 13:00 GMT.

European Rare Diseases Research Alliance (ERDERA) 2026

ERDERA’s 2026 Joint Transnational Call entitled “Resolving unsolved cases in rare genetic and non‑genetic diseases through variant validation and new technological approaches” has launched with a deadline for pre-proposal submission of 12 February 2026.

Upcoming calls

The Applied Partnership Awards – Women’s Health (APA-WH) 2026

The HRB will be launching a new targeted call: the Applied Partnership Awards Women’s Health (APA-WH) 2026 – Turning Research into Action on 16th January 2026, to fund up to ten research projects  (a maximum of €200,000 per project) over 12-24 months.

As with all applications to the APA scheme, along with a Lead Applicant – Researcher, each proposal requires a Lead Applicant – Knowledge User. The level of co-funding commitment from the Knowledge User partner(s) must be equivalent to a minimum of 10% of the total amount requested from the HRB (assessed as direct or “cash” contributions only).

Applications in any aspect of women’s health research are eligible for funding, and applications in the following four priority areas are especially welcome:

  • Postpartum Mental Health, with a particular focus on traumatic births
  • Endometriosis
  • Menstruation
  • Research on Culturally Sensitive Healthcare/Intersectional impacts on Women’s Health.

The call will be open to Lead Applicants from Host Institutions in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The Lead Knowledge User partner and co-contribution must be from an organisation based in the Republic of Ireland

Other European research funding opportunities

See our EU funding updates story for information on more European research funding opportunities.

See also general information on the Horizon Europe and EU4Health programmes.