Irish Research Council welcomes European funding success for former awardees
Posted: 3 December, 2019
The Irish Research Council welcomes the announcement that researchers based at University College Dublin and Waterford Institute of Technology will play a leading role in projects worth over €6M in funding under the Horizon2020 call, Societal Challenge 6 (SC6), Europe in a Changing World: Inclusive, Innovative and Reflective Societies. SC6 aims to “support inclusive, innovative and reflective European societies” by funding projects that provide collaborative, innovative solutions to inequalities and social exclusion in Europe.
- Dr Ray Griffin (Waterford Institute of Technology) is the coordinator of the project “HECAT – Disruptive Technologies Supporting Labour Market Decision Making” that was awarded €3.5M.
- Professor Maria Baghramian (University College Dublin) is the coordinator of the project “PEriTiA – Policy, Expertise and Trust in Action”, which was awarded €3M.
Both Dr Griffin and Professor Baghramian had previously been awarded funding under the Irish Research Council’s New Horizons Research Projects Scheme. The New Horizons scheme facilitated researchers and research teams to build capacity and track record in their research area, enabling them to expand their research activities and to become competitive in international funding opportunities such as Horizon2020.
A key pillar of Horizon 2020 includes seven societal challenges that seek to ensure that research meets the needs of our society. In the years since these researchers received their New Horizons Research Projects awards, the Scheme has evolved into the Collaborative Alliances for Societal Challenges (COALESCE) Research Fund. COALESCE is Ireland’s first societal challenge-based call addressing the Sustainable Development Goals set out by the UN 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development.
Commenting on the success of these researchers, Director of the Irish Research Council, Peter Brown, said: “The Irish Research Council is proud to have supported these world-class researchers and to see their New Horizons projects evolve into international, interdisciplinary SC6 awards under Horizon2020. Programmes such as New Horizons – in its present form, COALESCE – are key to enhancing the success of Ireland, and its researchers, in securing Horizon2020 funding.”
The third Irish success was the Genio Trust, which was awarded €250,000 to establish the European Social Catalyst Fund (ESCF). The ESCF will bring together public and private resources to provide a stimulus for scaling proven initiatives that can help tackle social challenges faced by countries across Europe. This will be co-funded by Genio, the Robert Bosch Stiftung, the King Baudouin Foundation and the European Commission.
The Council would also like to congratulate the Genio Trust on the success of their SC6-awarded project.
