The merger of Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) and the Irish Research Council (IRC) to form Research Ireland on August 1st, 2024, has opened up new possibilities and opportunities for the Irish research community. The new organisation now oversees competitive research funding across all disciplines, ranging from the arts, humanities and social sciences through to science, technology, engineering and maths, as well as across the full spectrum spanning curiosity-driven to applied research.
“SFI was enterprise and Stem-focused,” explains Research Ireland deputy chief executive Dr Ciarán Seoighe. “The IRC was not set up on a statutory basis so that meant that the arts, humanities and social sciences [AHSS] were not in the statutory research funding system. That put us behind other countries. We weren’t getting the full benefit of research in those areas. By creating Research Ireland we are able to support the full spectrum.”
He also points out that SFI wasn’t able to fund blue-skies, fundamental research, but Research Ireland can. “We need that research to create the new ideas and innovations that become applied research in years to come. By creating Research Ireland, we now have the ability to tap into and unlock the full potential of research in Ireland.”
Seoighe stresses the need to achieve the right balance in the different types of research supported. “We have the same budget as before and a very broad spectrum of research to support. Getting the balance right for Ireland will be key part of our work in the years ahead. That’s not an easy job. We will look at what makes Ireland strong and where gaps in funding exist. This will evolve over time.”
The establishment of the new agency is also reflective of the growing importance of interdisciplinary research in addressing complex societal challenges, such as climate change, healthcare and technological ethics, he continues. “Many of these challenges require knowledge and insights that cut across traditional academic boundaries. In the past, research was done in silos. Physicists didn’t speak to chemists, let alone with social scientists. Modern ways of operating are about breaking down barriers and getting beyond that world.”
He explains that research projects addressing climate change mitigation could involve economists, sociologists, historians, scientists and engineers. “Such a comprehensive approach can generate more nuanced solutions to complex problems and ensure these solutions are ethically grounded and socially responsive, while also enhancing Ireland’s overall innovation potential.”
The Vesuvius Challenge is an example of transdisciplinary research, he adds. Two thousand years ago, a volcanic eruption buried an ancient library of papyrus scrolls in Pompeii which were discovered in the 18th century. The scrolls were carbonised and couldn’t be unrolled to be read. The Vesuvius Challenge grand prize of $700,000 was offered for the first people to successfully read what was in the scrolls.
“A transdisciplinary research team used computer-aided tomography to detect changes in the ink absorption rates in the scrolls,” says Seoighe. “They used AI and machine learning to analyse the results and were able to read 2,000 lines of text without having to unroll the scrolls. The same technology can now be used that to unlock history from other scrolls around the world.”
Here at home, a transdisciplinary project led by historians in TCD and computer scientists in the SFI’s ADAPT research centre for or AI-driven digital content technology has brought Ireland’s public record office back to life, having been destroyed by fire in 1922. The Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland is a vast and growing treasury of replacement documents discovered in partner archives around the world, freely available online. Anyone with an interest in Ireland’s past can explore seven centuries of Irish history through more than 2.7 million searchable linked data entries (virtualtreasury.ie).
“Thanks to this project people can now explore previously lost parts of our history and the background to who we are as a people,” notes Seoighe. “These are just two examples. But there are many others. For example, climate change was traditionally thought of as an economic or technological problem. But behaviour science and psychology come into it as well. Very often people know the right thing to do but choose not to do it. Transdisciplinary research can help us find new ways to deal with challenges like that.
“We now have an opportunity to rebalance research funding for the benefit of society, the economy, climate and the environment,” he continues. “In the context of the big job ahead of us, we have all the right ingredients in place to succeed. We have a great, highly motivated team here in Research Ireland, we have a new board which brings a broad set of skills and deep, relevant experience, we have a great research community, and we have the support of our colleagues in the Department of Further and Higher Education, Innovation and Research and Government.”
