£64 million is to be invested in research across Ireland, Britain and Northern Ireland focusing on climate change and sustainable food systems.
The new co-centres programme will bring together leading academic and industrial researchers, as well as policy makers, with each centre being funded for six years.
The programme will be managed by Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), Northern Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
€40 million in funding has been provided to SFI through the Shared Island Fund and the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science.
DAERA has a budget allocation of up to £17 million (€20 million), while up to £12 million (approximately €14 million) has been earmarked for UKRI.
A call for proposals from researchers under the new programme will be published by the agencies in mid-November.
The collaboration was announced today (Monday, October 24) by Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris, UK Minister for Science and Investment Security, Nusrat Ghani and Northern Irish Minister for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Edwin Poots.
Commenting on the “ambitious new programme”, Minister Simon Harris said:
“By working together, we can foster new research collaborations that are crucial to addressing both climate, and sustainable and resilient food systems, these are critical issues that impact on all of us.”
Minister for Science and Investment Security, Nusrat Ghani, added:
“This excellent new programme will further deepen the relationships between the research sectors in Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ireland, encouraging valuable cross-border collaboration between our friendly nations.”
Minister for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Edwin Poots, said:
“I look forward to our research community responding to the call and subsequently delivering world-leading collaborative science to provide the evidence and innovation we need to enable Northern Ireland to reduce carbon emissions and biodiversity crisis in the right way; balancing climate, driving efficiency, environment and green jobs.”
