Competitive research funding agencies

The Irish Research Council is the national funder of excellent research across all disciplines, investing in discovery research and in ground-breaking ideas to solve major societal challenges, and funding a diverse range of excellent individual researchers across all career stages.

Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) is Ireland’s national foundation for research and the largest Irish competitive funding agency. SFI funds research in Ireland’s higher education institutions - often in partnership with industry or other national and international research funders. Through this funding, SFI is addressing social challenges and ensuring Ireland has the skills, ideas, and technologies needed to be a true global knowledge economy.