priorities to guide future allocations of public research infrastructural funding. The survey results, and the discussions of the June 2018 RIA stakeholder workshop, establish a clearer picture of research-infrastructure-related successes and challenges. • 90% of respondents in the sciences, and 85% of arts, humanities, and social sciences (AHSS) respondents to the Royal Irish Academy’s RI needs survey believed there are gaps in the availability of research infrastructures for their discipline. • 35% of respondents in sciences and 39% in AHSS said they are not generally able to access the research infrastructural resources they require. • 77% in sciences and 72% in AHSS believe that current RIs in Ireland are not adequately funded and maintained.
WHAT’S WORKING WELL Several programmes that fund and support research infrastructure development and capacity-building in the HE sector attracted considerable praise. There was notable support for Enterprise Ireland’s Technology Gateway Programme by researchers in the Institute of Technology (IoT) sector. In the absence of PRTLI, it was identified as a key support for IoT research, particularly with their regional small and medium enterprise (SME) base. IoTs’ increasing participation in research consortia, such as SFI centres, was welcomed as one way to offset the scale challenges experienced by IoTs in competing for substantial RI investment in the short to medium term.
The RIA survey ‘Examining the Adequacy and Requirements of Research Infrastructures in Ireland’ explored researchers’ satisfaction with current RIs.
Previous funding allocated by the IRC was highly valued by disciplines whose research falls outside of research prioritisation, as were sectorspecific RI schemes and strategies such as those developed by the Marine Institute and Health Research Board. These schemes were considered to offer a credible and highly targeted way to respond to the RI needs of specific research communities and to support the wider research base. The positive legacy of PRTLI was repeatedly cited. Participants noted the benefits for a range of RI, from training of research personnel to physical and virtual infrastructures. A move towards a national subscription model for academic publishing, as proposed by the National Forum on Open Data, could deliver significant system-wide benefits. CHALLENGES Clear differences emerge in the RI needs of universities and IoTs. Concern was expressed about the level of funding available to support streams of research activity that are aligned with regional industry strengths or
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IRELAND’S YEARBOOK OF EDUCATION 2018-2019 RESEARCH