IN 2006, the Strategy for Science Technology and Innovation (SSTI) laid out a plan for investing in research and development across a wide range of areas with a focus on doubling the number of PhD graduates. This consolidated previous research investments and placed them in the context of a detailed national plan.
This approach has been highly successful as it has raised the quality of research in Ireland and it is important to build on this success. However, resources must be carefully targeted to ensure maximum benefit for the Irish economy and society.
On March 1st, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton unveiled a new plan for public investment in research through the report of the Research Prioritisation Group. The report is the outcome of an in-depth study and wide consultation across the public and private sectors. It was led by the National Research Prioritisation Steering Group under the leadership of Jim O’Hara (former general manager of Intel Ireland) with the support of Forfás.
The report identifies that priority areas should derive from economic and societal needs and spans the next five years. In addition there must be industry relevance and corresponding research strengths in Ireland. It considers only competitively allocated public money for research. The study excluded the university core grant which funds general university operations across teaching and scholarship and IDA/Enterprise Ireland funds for in-company research.
The Steering Group required that a priority area is associated with a large global market or markets in which companies in Ireland already compete or can realistically compete. Public investment is required to exploit the priority area and will complement the private sector.
A total of 14 areas for prioritisation were identified. It is worth listing all of the areas as many of the titles reveal their links to the economy and society. First, in the broad area of ICT there are Future Networks and Communications; Data Analytics, Management, Security and Privacy; Digital Platforms, Content and Applications.
For the life, health and food areas there are Connected Health and Independent Living; Medical Devices; Diagnostics; Therapeutics Synthesis, Formulation, Processing, and Drug Delivery. There is also Food for Health; Sustainable Food Production and Processing.
There are two areas focusing on energy, Marine Renewable Energy; Smart Grids and Smart Cities. On the industry side there are Manufacturing Competitiveness; Processing Technologies and Novel Materials; Innovation in Services; and Business Processes.
It is recognised that there must be support for the disciplines that underpin these areas. For example, one cannot do research in ocean energy without expertise in physics, mathematics and engineering. This must be kept in mind when making investments and a system is needed that promotes both long- and short-term aspects. This is especially important as the report considers the coming five years. Strength across all disciplines is necessary to retain an agile research capability ready to move to new areas of economic interest.
The report demands an ongoing review of all funding programmes to ensure continued relevance and clarity of purpose. It also calls for a coherent approach by all of the funding bodies on the administration of funding programmes.
We need a national integrated funding system for research including policy and implementation. This should bring together a currently diverse set of funding streams and have a remit to take an overview of national research. There will be a Prioritisation Action Group (PAG) led by Minister of State for Research and Innovation Sean Sherlock to oversee the report’s implementation. It will be important that all stakeholders are represented to ensure a coherent approach.
Picking winners is a tricky business and the ability to respond rapidly and effectively to new opportunities over time will be even more important than exploiting current short-term opportunities. I believe that it is important to get this right now to ensure that in five years’ time, the right decisions have been taken.
Conor OCarroll is research director in the Irish Universities Association. See
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