In June 2006, the Government launched the National Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation 2006-2013. The National Science Strategy sets ambitious goals for the development of a knowledge society offering new opportunities for employment and social advancement, and sets out a shared vision of placing Ireland firmly on the global map in terms of the excellence of our research and its application for the benefit of society.
Rapid Climate Change Research Programme
In 2007, the Marine Institute received €2.2m in funding under the SSTI for a two-year marine climate change programme. The programme aims to undertake preliminary research relating to ocean mediated climate change. It involves close liaison with the
Environmental Protection Agency, Met Eireann and other key Irish players in climate change research to ensure complimentarity between programmes. The outputs include the
Ocean Climate Change Status Report for Ireland 2010 (PDF, 6.07 MB) and a
National Ocean Climate Change Research Plan 2008-2013.
The programme will focus on the following elements:
1. Optimisation of data collecting platforms and programmes
2. Integration of Marine Institute datasets
3. Downscaling future scenario model studies for the Irish Area
4. Phytoplankton and climate research
5. Impacts of increased atmospheric CO2 on ocean chemistry and ecosystems
6. Climate and catchment environment research
7. Salmonid and eel growth & survival research
8. Fisheries and climate research.
In 2007, a team of climate scientists were recruited to the Marine Institute with the aim of addressing elements 1-4 and 7-8. Elements 5 and 6 have been funded via projects (PDF 63KB) funded from a competitive call for research proposals in July 2007. Additional information is available on the Projects Database, Marine Climate Change and Funding pages.
Funds to Access Ship Time
The Integrated Marine Exploration Programme (IMEP) was created to develop national capacity in marine exploration by developing a pool of trained personnel who can utilise national assets and increase the quantum and nature of information gathered on marine surveys. As part of the IMEP, funded under the SSTI, the Marine Institute launched its Ship Time Programme, with two competitive calls to provide grant-aid to researchers for ship time during the 2007 and 2008 survey season.
The purpose of this Ship Time Programme is to expand existing marine research capabilities and build research potential by providing grant-aid for ship time onboard the national research vessels, R.V. Celtic Explorer and R.V. Celtic Voyager, for
- Dedicated Training Programmes
- Integrated Research Surveys
The funding committed under the Marine Institute’s SSTI scheme for ship-time amounts to €1.4m over two years (2007-2008, PDF 59KB) equating to over 2000 scientist/student days.
Additional information is available on the Funding page.
Marine Functional Foods
In March 2007, the Marine Institute and Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine signed an agreement to co-fund a national research programme in marine functional foods and ingredients research. The funding aims to develop new research capabilities and additional research capacity in marine functional foods research.
Research outputs will provide the Irish marine and foods sectors with the knowledge on which to base new high value-added products. This major research initiative spans across two Research Measures and two Research Programmes within Sea Change, addressing a major objective within the Seafood Processing Research Programme of the Industry Measure and will help to achieve the vision of the Marine Functional Foods Research Programme within the Discovery Measure.
The five-year award, led by Teagasc, will create two new research teams across six research institutions on the island of Ireland, creating nine new research positions (including two new Principal Investigators) and seven new PhD scholarships.
Additional information on the initiative can be viewed on the Funding pages.