Seven Trinity projects awarded Irish Research Council ‘New Foundations’ funding

Posted on: 14 December 2023

Seven Trinity research projects have received funding from the Irish Research Council (IRC) under the ‘New Foundation’ programme announced this week.

A total of 56 New Foundations projects were announced under the funding scheme designed to reach communities across the country and beyond, focusing on diverse societal challenges.

New Foundations awards bring researchers, civic society organisations and policy makers together to enhance the evidence base for policies and practices that will have a tangible impact, locally, nationally, and internationally.  The scheme enables awardees to pursue research, networking or dissemination activities within and across the diversity of disciplines.

Trinity research projects to receive funding are:

1. Amanda Phelan, Nursing & Midwifery, with civil society partner Sage Advocacy — developing a guidance booklet for older people considering transitioning to nursing homes
2. Julie Broderick, Physiotherapy, with  civil society partner Merchants Quay — feasibility and outcomes of implementing a women-only low-threshold exercise and nutritional supplementation programme to target frailty and poor physical functioning in women experiencing homelessness and addiction challenges (LEAP-W trial)
3. Meg Ryan, Public Health & Primary Care, with civil society partner Dublin Rape Crisis Centre — understanding the relationship between reproductive coercion and intimate partner violence in an Irish context; a stakeholder informed qualitative analysis
4. Eric Downer, Physiology, with civil society partner MS Ireland — a national network for knowledge exchange and education in multiple sclerosis research
5. Melissa Corbally, Nursing & Midwifery, with civil society partner Mens' Aid Ireland — a national network for knowledge exchange and education in multiple sclerosis research
6. Donatella Camedda, Education, with civil society partner Inclusion Ireland — promoting Education and Employment Resources for People with Intellectual Disabilities in Ireland
7. Joanne Banks, Education, with Irish Aid – synergies in Shaping Inclusive Educational Reform in the Global North and South: Policymakers and Academics in Ireland and South Africa

This week’s announcement represents a total investment of €633,000. Forty-three projects are funded by the IRC to enhance research partnerships with civic society organisations. Through these partnerships with researchers, diverse community organisations will attain new evidence and insights to enhance their services and their impact. 

In addition, a further thirteen projects are funded by Government departments and agencies. These address a range of themes including global north-south research development, global citizenship education and education for sustainable development, understanding the scale of social enterprise in Ireland, and exploring policing and community safety. A number of projects awarded New Foundations grants this year will see researchers leveraging new knowledge and evidence and participating in devising strategies and policies that will have measurable societal impact.

Commenting on the announcement, Peter Brown, Director of the Irish Research Council stated: “The Irish Research Council is very proud of the connections that have been enabled between researchers and wider stakeholders through the many awards made under the New Foundations programme over a number of years.

“This year will build further on the many successful partnerships, many of which endure and continue beyond the lifetime of the specific award. The research system and the experts that work within it, in myriad disciplines, are a strategic national resource and the New Foundations scheme helps to create a vibrant cross-stakeholder community to enhance evidence and knowledge for better policy and practice. I look forward to seeing fruitful and mutually beneficial collaborations develop between the awardees and their partners in civil society organisations and government departments and agencies.”

Further information about the New Foundations scheme is available here.