From Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science
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Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris, has today (Wednesday, 8 December 2021) launched a new collaborative research funding partnership between Children’s Health Foundation and Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), as part of their Frontiers for the Future Programme.
This new partnership will see Children’s Health Foundation and SFI provide match-funding opportunities of minimum €2 millon each in 2022 for research projects that have the potential to find new cures and treatments for sick children and change the future of paediatric healthcare.
The call for proposals is now open, with a submission deadline of 28 January 2022. SFI will run the grant call, peer review, selection and awarding of these successful projects.
Announcing the new collaboration Minister Harris, said:
“I’m delighted to welcome this new research collaboration focused on children’s health. I want to commend Children’s Health Foundation and Science Foundation Ireland for coming together to find better solutions for children’s healthcare through research. This has the potential to impact and improve the lives of so many sick children. I would encourage our paediatric research community to come forward with research proposals, and I hope this new collaboration will support further growth and development of paediatric research in Children’s Health Ireland and throughout Ireland.”
Children’s Health Foundation (formerly CMRF Crumlin and Temple Street Foundation) is the children’s charity supporting sick children in Children’s Health Ireland hospitals and urgent care centres. Its mission is to work together to provide world-class facilities, research and compassionate, loving care for every sick child in Ireland.
Commenting on the partnership, Chief Executive of Children’s Health Foundation, Denise Fitzgerald, said:
“Children's Health Foundation believes in the power of research to improve outcomes for sick children and transform young lives for the better. This collaboration with SFI is an important step forward to achieve this goal. It will maximise funding available to the paediatric research community, helping develop new cures and treatments. We are excited to work hand-in-hand with SFI on this initiative, made possible through the generous donations of our committed supporters, and we look forward to working together over the next year.”
Speaking about the collaboration, Dr Ruth Freeman, Director Science for Society, Science Foundation Ireland, said:
"We are delighted to be collaborating with Children’s Health Foundation to increase the level of high-quality collaborative pediatric research projects. I hope that projects funded will significantly improve the understanding of underlying causes, assist with earlier diagnoses, and support more effective treatment of childhood diseases. We encourage the pediatric research community to submit proposals under the SFI Frontiers for the Future Programme.”
Commenting on today’s announcement, Paul McNally, Director of Research and Innovation for Children’s Health Ireland said:
“A core part of the strategy of CHI is to deliver improved outcomes for the children of Ireland by integrating impactful research and innovation with compassionate clinical care. The announcement today is a major milestone on our journey towards that goal and is hopefully the start of a long, fruitful and ultimately impactful partnership that will benefit all children.”
The SFI Frontiers for the Future Programme provides opportunities for independent investigators to conduct highly innovative, collaborative research with the potential to deliver impact, whilst also providing opportunities for high-risk, high-reward research projects. Further information on the programme and application process can be viewed here -SFI Frontiers for the Future Programme