SCIENCE FOUNDATION IRELAND ANNUAL REPORT 2015
7
Chairman’s Statement
By every meaningful measure, 2015 was a year of significant accomplishment across
all areas of Science Foundation Ireland’s activity. Ireland moved up in the global
bibliometric rankings of repute; we had the best year for European Research Council
awards and, on a broader EU level, obtained more EU grant awards than ever
before. The SFI Research Centres are performing at a high level in terms of industry
collaborations and we renewed and created significant international research
partnerships.
Science Foundation Ireland also took its communications, education and public engagement
to a new level, collating metrics on public opinion towards science, identifying the real
barriers to the study of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) which will go on
to better inform the impact of our communications and outreach in the future.
Strategy
There has been good interaction with management on strategy this year, with particular
attention on engaging the SME sector in the research eco system; augmenting levels of
expertise in strategic emerging research areas in Ireland; increasing representation of women
in Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) in Ireland; and approaches to engage and
inform the general public on the benefits of scientific research to society and the economy.
We worked together to identify opportunities to deliver Science Foundation Ireland’s strategy
sooner and more effectively, and agreed actions to exploit the most important opportunities,
including the creation of a Communications Sub-Committee of the Board to support the
development of a more holistic Communications and Public Engagement Strategy.
The Grant Approval Committee of the Board commissioned an independent evaluation of
the organisation’s peer review process, recommendations from which will be implemented.
PwC provided an update to the Board on risk management. The Board also supported an
audit process of Science Foundation Ireland-funded Higher Education Institutes, to include
areas such as research integrity, compliance with legal, ethical and licensing obligations,
intellectual property (IP) and integrity. A transparent, robust and fair process to deal with
allegations of research misconduct has also been developed. (Details of our governance
structures can be reviewed on pages 42).
Science Foundation Ireland approved €131 million of new investment awards in 2015. In line
with its approved delegated authority, the Grant Approval Committee approved 38 of these
awards totalling €67 million.
Science Foundation Ireland was awarded The Excellence through People certification in
December 2015 by the National Standards Authority of Ireland. It was also awarded NSAI
SWiFT 3000 certification for corporate governance.
Stakeholder Engagement
In 2015, the Board had worthwhile engagements with many key external stakeholders
including a joint Board meeting with Enterprise Ireland; a meeting with Mr Tom Boland, CEO,
Higher Education Authority, in relation to increasing PhD students. We also met with Dr Paddy
Prendergast, Provost, Trinity College and the award winning SFI-funded team in AMBER
(Advanced Materials and Bio Engineering Research), the SFI Research Centre.
We communicated regularly with our stakeholders and employees to ensure they understand
our progress and plans. Minister Damien English attended the September Board meeting;
there were bi-monthly liaison meetings with our senior staff and officials from the
Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. The Director General held weekly briefing
meetings with staff. The Board also benefited from a meeting with all Science Foundation
Ireland employees in December to review our progress in 2015.
The SFI
Research
Centres are
performing
at a high
level