Grants Briefing
Session
University of Limerick
25 September 2014
About the Royal Irish Academy
Ireland’s leading body of experts in
the sciences, humanities & social
sciences
 Est. 1785 as an independent all
island academy
 Members elected for their
distinction & excellence in research
and publications
 Analogous to Royal Society, US
National Academy of Sciences, Royal
Swedish Academy of Sciences

Our work – Public Communication of the Value
Research and Scholarship
Our work - Informing government & public
debate
Our work – Supporting and Showcasing Irish
Researchers Internationally
Small Grants - Big Difference

One of Ireland’s oldest research funders, providing grants since 1867

Schemes are specifically targeted at early and mid career researchers

Our grants programme are primarily designed to:
• strengthen the international mobility of early career researchers
• assist researchers in developing international collaborative
networks

Small grants with high impact, designed to act as a career springboard

Complimentary to larger programmes offered by other funders
Overview of Schemes

The RIA Charlemont Grants – call now open
• Support for early career researchers in any discipline to undertake research
internationally

The RIA-RS International Cost Share Programme – call now open
• Supports research collaborations in the natural sciences between Ireland and
UK

R. J. Hunter Scheme – call for research bursaries now open
• Funding to support research on the Ulster plantation and other cognate areas
• Expressions of interest also being sought for 2 year postdoctoral fellowship
(tenable October 2015) and large scale digitisation grant
Overview of Schemes

Archaeology Grants
• Research Excavation Grants Scheme – Call open end September
• Archaeology Research Grants – Call open Spring 2015
• Archaeology C14 Grants – Call open Spring 2015

Occasional Bursaries and Awards
• Eoin O’Mahony Bursary in Irish History – next grant round 2016
• Praeger Fund for Field Research in Irish History – currently paused
RIA Charlemont Grants

Estb. 2007 as Mobility Grants and now rebranded in honour of RIA’s
founding President, James Caulfeild, 1st Earl of Charlemont

Targeted exclusively at researchers awarded PhDs within past seven years
(max award €2,500)

Scheme facilitates short international visits (max 6 weeks) for primary
research in any discipline

Visits from eligible international scholars also allowable

On average 30 individual applications awarded each year, with an annual
fund of c. €40,000 disbursed – average annual success rate of c.20%
Charlemont Grants Overview
50
Over
Countries/
5
States visited
Continents
126
c. €200,000
Projects Funded
in funds
disbursed
Charlemont Grants Key Objectives
 To strengthen the international mobility of early
career researchers

To assist researchers in developing
international collaborative networks
 To gain access to ideas, research facilities &
complementary equipment abroad
Charlemont Grants Eligibility Criteria

Open to applicants who are no more than seven years past the award of
their PhDs at the start of the term of the grant (those awarded PhDs in
2008 not eligible)

Applicants must be resident in Ireland (including Northern Ireland)

Applicants can be in full or part time employment, independent applicants
may also apply

Applications from international scholars also welcome (seven years
postdoctoral) provided Irish host makes the application

One application per grant round allowed
Charlemont Grants Eligible Costs

Project planning and development costs

Travel and maintenance for Irish scholars or visiting overseas scholars

Research assistance and direct costs of research

Limited consumables

Ineligible costs include:
• Institutional overheads
• Subventions for publications
• Teaching or salary buy out
• Conference attendance
Charlemont Grants Assessment Criteria

Research background of the applicant

Strength of applicant and host institution in proposed area of research

Mutual benefit of the collaboration

Strength of research proposal and contribution to Irish research base

Applications must be for a clearly defined, discrete piece of research

Peer-reviewed by assessment panels from across the RIA Membership

Applicants notified of outcome approximately 10 weeks after closing date
Charlemont Grants Project Overview

Countries visited include:
• Destinations in Europe, North America, Australia New Zealand and Africa
including DR Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and South Africa

2014 Grants awarded in some of the following disciplines
• Psychotherapy
• Phenomenology
• Political and Cultural History
• Microbiology
• Neural Engineering
• Theoretical Physics
Charlemont Grants – Why Apply?

Review of past recipients point to estb. of numerous long-term academic
collaborations, publications in high ranking journals, positive impact on
long-term career development, grant as a springboard for larger funding
awards, recognition within home institution

Opportunity to become part of the life of the Royal Irish Academy
• ‘RIA Charlemont Scholar’
• CPD and mentoring opportunities
• Invitations to Academy events and activities
RIA-RS International Cost-Share

Targeted at mid-career researchers and run in collaboration with the Royal
Society, this scheme funds for collaborative research between Irish and UK
teams working on a single project over a 2 year period

Covers research in the natural sciences, including:
• Physics, Chemistry, Maths, Computer Science, Engineering, Agri and Biological
Research and scientific aspects of Archaeology, Geography and Experimental
Psychology

Scheme provides €7,500 per team per year, 1 – 2 grants awarded per year

Scheme requires matching application by UK team to Royal Society using
e-Gap portal https://royalsociety.org/grants/schemes/internationalexchanges/
International Cost-Share Eligibility

Open to mid-career researchers of proven ability, of at least postdoctoral
status & with a permanent or fixed-term contract in an Irish HEI for
duration of award

Irish applicants/collaborators must be resident in Republic of Ireland

Scheme covers bi-lateral visits between UK and Ireland (multi-lateral visits
not allowed)

Teams must be from academia and not industry

Institutional overheads, bench fees, salary buy-outs and conference fees
not covered
RIA Hunter Grants

A new scheme established in memory of the late R.J. Hunter, a historian of
the Ulster plantation

Designed to promote research on Ulster plantation (c.1550 – 1750)
including patterns of migration from and to Britain and North America,

Also covers cognate areas of research on early modern Ulster, in areas
such as:
• urban growth, local administration, social structure, religion, print culture,
political interaction, trade and commerce and economy
Hunter Bursaries

Applications currently invited for Hunter Bursaries (maximum €2,500)

Open to postgraduate, postdoctoral and researchers outside of academic
sector.

Applicants must be resident in Ireland (North and South) and Britain, with
Irish applicants eligible to visit institutions in Ireland or abroad. British
applicants limited to visiting institutions in Ireland.

Applicants must satisfy assessment panel that research is likely constitute
a significant contribution to knowledge in line with research aims of
scheme.
Hunter Eligible Costs and Assessment Criteria

Eligible costs include:
• Direct expenses incurred in planning, conducting and developing the research
• Travel and maintenance costs for researchers
• Research assistance and limited consumables (max €500)

Assessment Criteria:
• Research background of the applicant
• Strength of the applicant in the proposed area of research
• Strength of the research proposal
• Contribution to the research aims of the scheme
Hunter Fellowships and Digitisation Grant

Expressions of Interest now sought for a two year Postdoctoral
Fellowship, tenable from October 2015
• Fellowship valued at €45,000 per annum for a max. of two years
• Applicants must have received their PhDs within past seven years and must be
affiliated with recognised Irish HEI (North or South)

Expressions of Interest also being sought for a large-scale digitisation
grant (c. €60,000) to allow for digitisation of records relating to Ulster
Plantation
Archaeology Grants

Funding archaeological research in Ireland for more than 70 years

The Research Excavation Grants Scheme, funded by the National
Monuments Service, funds excavation and post-excavation research and is
open to professional Archaeologists
• The scheme has funded over 90 excavations in Ireland and is the only fund in
Ireland supporting independent research excavation

Archaeological Research Grants Scheme

C14 Dating Scheme (in conjunction with QUB)
Occasional Bursaries and Awards

The RIA also administers a number of legacy bequests, allowing for the
funding of a series of occasional bursaries and awards

Two notable schemes include:
• The Eoin O’Mahony Bursary in Irish History, which funds historical research
on subjects of Irish history. Preference is given to projects concerning the
family histories of the ‘Wild Geese’
• The Praeger Fund for Field Natural History, which awards small grants (max
€500) for fieldwork relevant to the natural history of Ireland
Conclusion

Deadline for current schemes – 28th October 2015

For more information and to apply online please visit :
www.ria.ie/grants

Queries can be addressed to grants@ria.ie

Dr. John Maguire, Senior Grants Manager (j.maguire@ria.ie)

Sinead Riordan, Head of Policy & International Relations
(s.riordan@ria.ie)
Connect with Academy House
@RIADawson
/RoyalIrishAcademy
http://www.ria.ie
Listen back to lectures:
http://soundcloud.com/theroyal-irish-academy