Creating Our Future

'Creating Our Future' is a conversation with you and all the people of Ireland, to gather your ideas on what problems you'd like research and innovation to deal with, to create a better future for all.

While we might not always think about it, research and innovation affect nearly every part of our lives. It influences health and well-being, the environment and climate change, education, employment, standard of living, and improves the involvement of disadvantaged groups and people in society.

For example, research into our past gives us understanding and perspective on how to navigate our future. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown the importance and value of research and innovation in our lives — medically, socially, politically and economically.

Ideas and inspiration are the starting point for all research, and you can now share your ideas on research and innovation projects that you'd like to see happen in Ireland.

Once you have your say, an expert panel will collect your ideas with everyone else's and consider them. Then the panel will create a report based on the suggestions and topics or interest inspired by this national conversation.

Contributing to this unique opportunity will help make sure that the needs of the people of Ireland will be an essential part of the direction of research in Ireland. You can influence the work of researchers and innovators, to answer society’s needs.

Researchers will consider the public's ideas and topics in their current research. There might also be extra government funding to deal with challenges identified by the public.

The report will also influence Ireland’s policy on research and innovation.

Where to have your say

From July to November, events will be taking place throughout the country. Visit the 'Creating Our Future' website and find out about ones happening near you or online. The website will be live from July.

If you're involved in an organisation or community group, we can help you to share your views. Why not hold your own event or discussion group? You'll be able to find guidance on how to do this on the 'Creating Our Future' website.

You can submit ideas directly, or find out how to hold your own event, through the 'Creating Our Future' website.

How to think of research ideas

Think about the opportunities or challenges in your life that could be improved by solutions from research and innovation.

Think about ways research and innovation could benefit you or your community. This could be about anything, including for example:

• local community and heritage, in a rural, coastal, or urban environment
• national infrastructure
• technology that helps us
• the laws and rules that guide us

Over the coming years, Ireland will need to find solutions to the biggest challenges facing our society. To improve the quality of life for everyone, we must find ways to:

• restart the economy and make it ready for the future
• improve health and housing
• deal with climate change
• promote sustainable development
• and much more

The starting point for all research and innovation is curiosity and a good idea. 'Creating Our Future' aims to gather ideas from the public as inspiration for research that could be undertaken in Ireland.

The experience of COVID-19 teaches us that we need to work together to solve large challenges to our society, with researchers and the general public contributing to government policies and decision-making.

Creating Our Future will encourage a conversation between people from all corners and strands of Irish life, on ideas for future research and innovation.

This conversation will be about what research is already happening. Most importantly, it will ask the Irish public what problems and opportunities they think are the most impaortant for our culture, society, and economy.

All ideas will be collected, shared, and will help influence the future direction of research and innovation in Ireland.