Funding for marine research is available through a range of dedicated and general national and international programmes. These programmes provide support for researchers in the higher education, public and private sectors for basic and applied research.
The National Development Plan 2007–2013 provides Research, Technology, Development and Innovation (RTDI) funding opportunities in the marine sector under a number of programmes and sub-programmes, principally:
NDP Marine Research Sub-Programme
The Marine Research Sub-Programme, one of eight Sub-Programmes in the Science, Technology and Innovation Programme, is the dedicated marine research funding mechanism with the 2007-2013 NDP. The sub-programme targets €141 million at investment in marine research and innovation as part of the overall investment needs identified in Sea Change: A Marine Knowledge, Research & Innovation Strategy for Ireland 2007-2013.
The Marine Institute, on behalf of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, is responsible for the management and implementation of the funding package committed to this Sub-Programme. The funding package will be administered via competitive calls for proposals from the research community (including industry).
Environment Research Sub-Programme
The Environment Research Sub-Programme, administered by the Environmental Protection Agency, funds competitive research in support of the objectives of the EPA's Science, Technology, Research & Innovation for the Environment (STRIVE) Programme. Marine research funding opportunities are potentially available via a number of the thematic areas of the programme (notably: Water Quality and the Aquatic Environment; Impacts on Biodiversity; and Climate Change) and through the Capacity & Capability support measure.
World Class Research STI Sub-Programme
As part of this programme, the Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technology (IRCSET) provides supports, via its' EMBARK Initiative, for early stage researchers through the provision of Post-Graduate Scholarships and Post-Doctoral Fellowships in all areas of science, engineering and technology, including marine-related disciplines. The emphasis is on innovative, original and exploratory research, aimed at generating new knowledge and energising Ireland's future growth, development and national competitiveness.
Seafood Development Sub-Programme
RTDI funding opportunities for sea fisheries, aquaculture, seafood processing and seafood marketing are available through the Seafood Development Sub-Programme (Marine and Coastal Communities Programme), which falls under the responsibility of Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) and Enterprise Ireland.
Enterprise STI Sub-Programme
This Sub-Programme, in support of industry relevant R&D and commercialisation, has three key elements:
- Transforming R&D Activity in Enterprise;
- Industry/Higher Education Institutes Collaboration; and
- Realising the Commercial Potential of Ireland's Research Community.
The fist element aims to get more firms involved in doing R&D, to increase the amount of R&D that existing performers are doing, and to raise the quality of the R&D they perform. This is achieved through dedicated R&D funding initiatives administered by Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland.
Other sub-programmes within the NDP where funding may be targeted at marine-related research include the Energy Research (e.g. Parsons Energy Awards); Geoscience (e.g. Griffith Geosciences Awards); and Agri-Food (e.g. Food Institutional Research Measure).
Other potential sources of national funding for marine-related research include:
There are significant opportunities for Irish marine researchers to compete for international funding from a range of European programmes.
The Framework Seven Programme (FP7) is Europe's dedicated programme for fudnign science and technology research. The €50 billion FP7 programme runs from 2007 to 2013 and funds competitive research through four specific programmes: Cooperation, People, Ideas and Capacities.
Further funding opportunities are available through a range of European Interreg Programmes ("Territorial Cooperation"). Interreg funds projects that promote and improve social and economic cohesion between the regions of Europe. Marine research can be funded through Interreg projects that mean the core socio-economic objectives of the particular programme. Irish researchers can participate in six Interreg Programmes, listed on our dedicated Interreg pages.
Other international programmes that can fund or support marine RTD or networking actions include Life+ (Environment Actions) and COST (co-ordination and networking).
Finally, international training courses for early-stage marine researchers (PhDs and young post-doctoral scientists). In some cases, scholarship opportunities to fund attendance are available.
More detailed information on all of these programmes, and more, can be found on our dedicated International Funding web pages.
Further Information
For further information on funding for marine research contact the Sea Change Funding and Administration Office at funding@marine.ie or 091-387200.
Advice on
international funding opportunities is also available.