“The decision of the Government over a decade ago to develop the Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions (PRTLI) centres in our universities, institutes and colleges has resulted in a direct commercial return on investment of €1.8 billion, according to a new independent study carried out by PA Consulting …” (more)
[Higher Education Authority, 19 September]
“… There has never been a more important time to mark the significance of research within the College, as in the national context we await the Forfas prioritisation report which may have implications for the amount of research funding made available for AHSS …” (more)
[Caroline Fennell, creative Head space, 14 September]
“The taxpayer is getting a good return on the investment in scientific research, according to Science Foundation Ireland. The foundation yesterday released its annual report for 2010 and also its annual census of scientists who have received financial support …” (more)
[Dick Ahlstrom, Irish Times, 9 September]
“Ongoing State investment in scientific research is delivering results, Science Foundation Ireland said today. The numbers of companies undertaking research is on the increase, and academic researchers are winning a reputation for abroad for the quality of their work, according to the foundation …” (more)
[Dick Ahlstrom, Irish Times, 8 September]
“You highlight China’s scientific investment drive (Nature 476, 5; 2011). This is a reminder that nations with little experience of modern large-scale investment in science may be jumping into ill-planned knowledge-economy ventures that could have serious long-term consequences. Take Ireland, for example …” (more)
[Mojgan Naghavi and Derek Walsh, Nature, 25 August]
“In American science, race affects the chance of getting a grant. You might expect that science, particularly American science, would be colour-blind. Though fewer people from some of the country’s ethnic minorities are scientists than the proportions of those minorities in the population suggest should be the case, once someone has got bench space in a laboratory, he might reasonably expect to be treated on merit and nothing else …” (more)
[Economist, 20 August]
“State funding for scientific research has held up well in spite of the recession, the head of Forfás has said. Forfás, the policy advisory board for enterprise and science, has released the latest figures for State sector research funding, with detailed returns for 2009 and estimated figures for 2010 …” (more)
[Dick Ahlstrom, Irish Times, 16 August]
“EU-based companies that currently invest most in research and development are expecting their global R&D investments to increase by 5pc annually between 2011 and 2013, according to figures published today by the European Commission …” (more)
[Grainne Rothery, Business and Leadership, 10 August]
“Last week the European Commission announced a budget of €7 billion for research in 2012. This is the largest in the world bar the US National Institutes for Health and Nasa. This fund is part of the Seventh Framework Programme running from 2007 to 2014. Its successor, named Horizon 2020, has a proposed budget of €80 billion, the only major area for increase in the EC budget after 2014 …” (more)
[Conor O'Carroll, Irish Times, 28 July]
“The Minister for Research and Innovation, Seán Sherlock, has welcomed the announcement by European Commissioner Máire Geoghegan-Quinn that nearly €7 billion funding is to be made available for research projects throughout Europe …” (more)
[Cork Politics, 19 July]
“Food scientists in Irish research institutes and SMEs have secured €6.1 million in the latest round of the EU’s FP7 technical research funding …” (more)
[Joe Dermody, Irish Examiner, 14 July]
“Partnerships involving businesses and academic groups from the Republic and Northern Ireland featured in five of the 11 successful projects in the EU Seventh Framework security research programme for 2010-2011. According to figures from Enterprise Ireland, the indicative total European Community expenditure for security research in the period is €242,822,043 …” (more)
[Gordon Smith, Silicon Republic, 11 July]
“Enabling innovative thinking is the raw material of prosperity, says Laura O’Brien, who saw for herself the fruit of state investment in the country’s PhD population. The in-depth work that is undertaken by Ireland’s researchers can drive economic and social growth, improving the lives of everyone through their discoveries …” (more)
[Silicon Republic, 7 July]
“BiancaMed has become the latest Irish university spinout to be bought by a US firm with the promoters and venture capital backers cashing out in a multi-million euro deal but unanswered questions remaining on the Irish taxpayer funding billions of euros in research but any young company with potential likely to be snapped up before significant value added is available for the Irish economy …” (more)
[Michael Hennigan, Finfacts, 7 July]
“Like many governing bodies, the European Union (EU) has entered an era of austerity, with one striking exception: scientific research …” (more)
[Colin Macilwain, Nature News, 5 July]
“In an article published yesterday in the Irish Times John Kelly, former Registrar of University College Dublin, reflects on what the state might legitimately expect from the very significant sums of money it has invested in university research. I am not absolutely sure what point he is making in the piece …” (more)
[Ferdinand von Prondzynski, University Blog, 3 July]
“A hard-hitting review of engineering research in Irish universities and its potential for making a contribution to economic development was recently published by the Irish Academy of Engineering. The figures show that in the four years from 2005 to 2009, the last government spent €1.35 bn of public funds on research in our universities, with 85% allocated to the disciplines in sciences, 8% to engineering and 7% to other, mostly arts, disciplines …” (more)
[John Kelly, Irish Times, 2 July]
“The next Framework Programme will be worth €80.2 billion if the European Commission gets its way, the proposal for the 2014-2020 Commission budget has shown. This would signify a 46% increase on the budget of Framework 7, which runs from 2007 to 2013 and is worth about €56bn …” (more)
[Inga Vesper, Research Blogs, 30 June]
“IBEC, the group that represents Irish business, today welcomed the announcement by Commissioner Máire Geoghegan-Quinn that in excess of 18 billion euro will be available over the next two years to support research and development across the European Union. Calls for proposals will be issued next month and again in July 2012 to access this funding under the seventh framework programme for research and technological development (FP7). To date, Ireland has already drawn down in excess of €300 million from FP7 since 2007 …” (more)
[IBEC, 24 June]
“Ireland’s standing in published international research has risen dramatically in the past 30 years. How did this happen and how can it be sustained? In 1981 the international impact of research carried out in Ireland ranked with that of Bangladesh. Then, we were at 65 per cent of the world average …” (more)
[Conor O'Carroll, Irish Times, 23 June]
