Press release
Minister for Health announces launch of new ‘Evidence-for-Policy’ Research Programme
From Department of Health
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Health
Published on
Last updated on
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has today announced the launch of a pilot open research call under the new ‘Evidence-for-Policy’ (EfP) Research Programme.
The EfP Research Programme is a new funding call that has been co-designed by the Department of Health and the Health Research Board (HRB) to harness academic research in support of policy decision-making. In this first round, researchers are invited to submit applications under eight research proposals being put forward by the Department of Health.
This programme will help put research at the heart of addressing our healthcare challenges and deliver on the commitment in “Impact 2030: Ireland’s Research and Innovation Strategy” to maximise the impact of evidenced-informed research on public policymaking and implementation.
The objective is to generate evidence to inform policy-making in health and social care in a timely, rigorous, and transparent manner. To deliver this, the EfP funding programme will support high-quality, internationally competitive research that addresses evidence gaps that are a priority for health and social care policy in Ireland. Policy makers and researchers will work closely together to ensure knowledge translation and practical implementation.
This new programme will play a critical role in advancing research in areas highlighted in the department’s “Statement of Priorities - Health and Social Care research (2023-2025)”. The Statement of Research priorities is a living document and has been updated in 2024 to emphasise the department’s interest in research that will increase the productivity and value for money of healthcare delivery,
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said:
"We are making great progress using research and data to support decision-making in the delivery of health and social care. This new Evidence-for-Policy programme is directly targeted at strengthening the link between the policy challenges we face, and the research effort needed to support the decisions of Government. It will bring together researchers and policymakers to develop innovative solutions that will strengthen and improve the delivery of healthcare in Ireland. All the topics included are focused on live policy issues. They are intended to generate evidence that will strengthen our public health and that will inform proactive health promotion and effectiveness in our delivery of health and social care. I am particularly interested in seeing what role the research community can play in identifying the productivity improvements that can be made to increase the efficiency and value for money in the health sector."
Chief Executive of the HRB, Dr Mairéad O’Driscoll, said:
"The HRB is particularly pleased to work so closely with the Department of Health to design and implement this new programme which aims to ensure that policy-making in health and social care is well informed by the best available research evidence and has potential to shape the definition of new policies, innovations in existing policies, policy implementation and/or policy evaluation. We look forward to harnessing the expertise and capacity of the research community and to forging new collaborations between scientists and policymakers. Using our expertise in design, review and management of research grants, we can ensure that the evidence generated from successful research projects will be inputted into the policy-making process in a systematic, responsive and transparent way.
"We are running this first call on a pilot-and-learn basis and it is our intention to request and act on feedback from all involved in order that this programme becomes an enduring and recurrent fixture in the health research community’s grant calendar."
This round of the EfP Programme will close on 15 March 2024. Application details and guidance notes are available on the HRB website.
In this round, researchers are invited to submit applications under eight research proposals put forward by the Department of Health.
These include:
1. A mixed methods study to examine the drivers of out of pocket (OOP) expenditure in community healthcare settings and the impact on health outcomes in Ireland.
2. A project to investigate: (1) the reasons or drivers for the increase in Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) in Ireland over the last five years? (2) what drives use/non-use of condoms and availing/not availing of STI testing in key groups in Ireland?
3. A project to conduct (1) a mapping of the current diagnostic options and treatments in Ireland for conditions associated with the menstrual cycle (2) a review of the effectiveness of interventions to improve access to and quality of diagnosis, treatment, and care (in primary and secondary care settings) for menstrual cycle-related discomforts and conditions (3) a gap analysis to highlight where no current treatment and care pathways have been identified, and where there is potential for future innovative advances.
4. A project investigating: (1) the impact of reimbursed medicines on healthcare service utilisation in Ireland from the perspective of the health and social care system (2) what reductions in healthcare service utilisation are provided by new or more intense provision of medicines to patients?
5. An evidence-informed approach to developing a National Primary Care Therapy Waiting list protocol.
6. Health in Transition health system review (HiT) for Ireland as part of the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies HiT series.
7. An outcome evaluation to: (1) measure the impact of Advanced Practice roles for Health & Social Care Professionals (HSCP), including on access to care and the patient journey at this interface between primary and secondary care, and (2) generate evidence on the barriers and enablers for implementing and scaling further reforms.
8. Strategies to improve Value for Money in Irish health care delivery in the primary, community and acute settings, focusing on productivity, efficiency and sustainability.