The Irish Research Council (IRC) has announced funding for 67 New Foundations projects that will reach communities across the country and beyond, focusing on diverse societal challenges and government policy issues. 

43 projects are funded by the IRC to enhance research partnerships with civic society organisations. Through these partnerships with researchers, diverse community organisations will attain new evidence and insights to enhance their services and their impact. 

In addition, a further 20 projects are funded by government departments and agencies addressing global development and global citizenship education, north-south reconciliation, our shared island, the National Volunteering Strategy for Ireland, and child protection and welfare policy. Four awards on climate change and biodiversity are funded by the Sunflower Charitable Foundation.

Director of the IRC Dr Louise Callinan said: “We are delighted to renew and extend our ongoing partnerships with government departments and agencies who are funding 20 New Foundations projects, in addition to the 43 collaborative projects funded by the IRC with civic society partners, and the 4 funded by a charitable foundation. The collaboration between researchers and policymakers represented in these awards aligns with the ambitions of Impact 2030: Ireland’s Research and Innovation Strategy to strengthen evidence-based policymaking and deliver enhanced outcomes for citizens and society.  While New Foundations awards are relatively modest in value, they play a vital role in supporting and nurturing our research talent, providing an important step on the funding ladder to further awards nationally and internationally.” 

The six UCD New Foundations Projects announced are: 

Dr Sarah Carol, UCD School of Sociology, ‘Well-Being in the Post-COVID-19 Era: the Impact of COVID-19 on Palestinian Refugees and Bedouins in the West Bank’. 

Dr Alexander Kondakov, UCD School of Sociology, ‘Enabling Civil Society and Academia Collaboration in the Area of Anti-LGBTQ+ Hate Crime’. 

Dr John Gilmore, UCD School of Nursing,Midwifery & Health Systems, ‘Realist Evaluation of Mental Health Crisis Support in Inclusion health’. 

Dr Maebh Harding, UCD Sutherland School of Law, ‘Doing Feminist Legal Work’. 

Dr Suja Somanadhan, UCD School of Nursing,Midwifery & Health Systems, ‘All Ireland Rare Disease Inter-Disciplinary Research Network (RAiN) to Identify, and Understand Functional Status and Quality of Life and Family Management Measure for Children and Young People Living with Rare Diseases’.

Dr Michelle Downes, UCD School of Psychology‘, An All-Island consortium to foster Educational Neuroscience research and practice’.

Further information about the New Foundations scheme and the 67 funded projects is available here.