Marine Research & Innovation Strategy - Deadline for submissions extended

A new plan setting out Ireland's Marine Research & Innovation Strategy for the period 2016 - 2021 is now available for public consultation until Friday, 30 December 2016.

The draft strategy, prepared by the Marine Institute, provides a unified view of the marine related funding requirements across a range of societal challenges such as transport, food, energy and biodiversity. It aims to build on the significant progress made during the implementation of Ireland's previous marine research, knowledge and innovation strategy – Sea Change 2007-2013.

The strategy has been developed following detailed review of marine research performance in Ireland, as well a review of the major policy and sectoral drivers. A key aim of the strategy is to provide a guide for government and funding agencies to where there are gaps in marine research to meet the needs of society as stated in national strategies such as Innovation 2020, the national research and innovation strategy.

Dr Peter Heffernan, Marine Institute CEO, said, "Significant progress has been made in marine research and it has become clear that marine research in Ireland has moved from being what was considered by some as a niche field, to a theme that is integral to the development of many sectors such as energy, transport, food, and biodiversity".

The strategy aims to raise the research capacity across a number of identified themes and to ensure that funding is targeted to match requirements highlighted in state policies and sectoral plans. Dr Heffernan added, "There is a high degree of coordination in the State's approach to research funding, as we have seen through the national research prioritisation exercise and more recently the publication of Innovation 2020. We hope the Marine Research and Innovation Strategy will contribute to that coordinated approach by providing important insights to funding agencies as to how best to target their resources in the cross cutting area of marine research."

All citizens and organisations are welcome to contribute to this consultation.

Speaking about the Public Consultation, Dr. Heffernan said: We've chosen to make the document available to as wide an audience as possible through public consultation in the spirit of engaging with the sea, a key goal of Harnessing Our Ocean Wealth, Ireland's integrated marine plan. We hope that as many people as possible will contribute to the consultation process". The purpose of the public consultation is to collect views and opinions on the strategy, scope, objectives, and expected impacts of the Strategy.

You can view the draft Marine Research and Innovation Strategy on www.marine.ie and give your feedback on or before the 30th of December 2016. Feedback from the consultation will be analysed and considered by the Marine Institute before the Strategy is finalised.

How to get involved - Complete the survey
Ten questions have been designed to capture your views.

You can complete the online survey on the Marine Institute's website: New Marine Research Agenda

Alternatively, you can email your responses to stakeholders@marine.ie

The draft strategy on which comments are sought, the consultation questions and background briefing documents are available below:
- Draft Marine Research and Innovation Strategy 2016-2021
- Consultation Questions
- Background briefing documents

Comments on this public consultation should be submitted online or by email no later than 5pm, Friday, 30 December 2016.

This press release is also available in Irish here