Research Newsletter – Issue 80: Information and Updates
Please click on the heading below to access further information:
Dr Philip Crowley, National Director for Strategy and Research in the Health Services Executive, has published the HSE National Policy for Consent in Health and Social Care Research.
There will be a public launch event by live webinar on Thursday 9th February 2023 at 2.30pm.
The MSCA Work Programme for 2023-2024 has been formally approved and adopted by the European Commission and is now available through the Funding and Tenders Portal.
The Irish Marie Sklodowska-Curie Office (IMSCO) recommend that potential applicants read through work programme, particularly as there have been some changes to definitions and clarification on certain rules (e.g. in PF a successful viva defence must be unconditional and take place before the call deadline).
See below some of the major changes:
- Introduction of a coordination and support action on feedback to policy from MSCA projects.
- The maximum person months for the standard Doctoral Network has been restored to 540 person months with the maximum fellowship duration remaining at 36 months.
- The maximum PhD fellowship duration in Joint Doctorates has been increased from 36 months to 48 months (still within the 540 person-month envelope) and the maximum project duration of DN-JD networks is increased to 60 months. This is to incentivise more applications to the DN-JD mode.
- In Postdoctoral Fellowships, letters of commitment will only be required for the third country host of the outgoing phase and no longer required for other associated partners in the proposal.
As part of the MSCA-NET project, handbooks for applicants applying for the upcoming MSCA COFUND (deadline 9th February 2023) and Staff Exchanges (deadline 8th March 2023) calls have been produced. They contain tips and advice on how to approach the different sections of the proposal as well as common strengths and weaknesses that have been identified by evaluators.
The handbooks will be of use to applicants applying this year and also potential applicants who are planning for next year.
Research Outputs Survey (RO2022)
The SFI Research Outputs Survey is an annual survey of the SFI research community (past and present) in relation to their outputs and activities over the course of the previous year.
Who is required to complete RO2022?
- It is mandatory for all researchers who had active research awards during 2018 to 2022 to complete the survey.
- Researchers active in 2022 must report on ALL research output areas and activities in 2022 including publications, conferences, commercial outputs, collaborations etc (Full Research Outputs). Late or non-submission of Research Outputs for this cohort will result in the application of penalty points.
- All other researchers (active in 2018-2021) are asked only to advise of Publications, Commercial Activity and Impacts (Reduced Research Outputs).
- Researchers who have NOT been active in the last 5 years are also requested to complete a reduced research outputs form but it is not mandatory.
- The deadline for submission this year was 23rd January 2023. Award administrators on Research Centres, CRTs, CDTs and some Strategic Partnerships have an additional 2 weeks (until 7th February) to aggregate the data from their members submissions. These deadlines cannot be extended due to SFI’s own downstream reporting requirements.
The SFI Reporting Compliance Policy applies.
Annual (Scientific) / Final Reports
When an award is made to a researcher, a schedule of progress reports is agreed. This includes Annual and Final reports. Annual / Final progress reports (deadlines vary but the majority of annual reports are due on 31st January 2023) – the Reporting section of SFI’s website provides further information in this regard. These reports are annual progress updates in relation to each active award. They can overlap somewhat with the Research Outputs insofar as the quantitative element (relevant publications, presentations etc) can be pulled from the data reported under Research Outputs. However, there is also a qualitative element where researchers provide more context and detail in relation to their achievements during the reporting year.
Late submission of these reports will incur penalty points as outlined in the Reporting Compliance Policy. In extenuating circumstances, this due date of annual / final reports MAY be extended but this must be approved by the relevant SFI Scientific Programme Manager.
Exceptions
In certain exceptional circumstances (e.g. bereavement, extended illness, maternity leave), exemptions to the Reporting Compliance Policy may apply. However, it is important that the individual researcher contact their Scientific Programme Manager (SPM) or reporting@sfi.ie to discuss. Further details on exemptions can be found in the Reporting Compliance Policy.
Planning a research event or conference? The Research Projects Administration (RPA) team can take the hassle of planning one off you and make sure you deliver a successful event.
Visit the RPA event support page on the DCU website for more information.
The Research Projects Administration (RPA) team is open for pre-award funding application support for PI’s who intend to coordinate Horizon Europe, MSCA, ERC and COST projects. RPA assists in preparing the application for EI Coordinator Support and the support is paid for from this funding.
RPA look after the administrative aspect of the process, allowing the PI to focus on the technical aspects of their research proposal - they work with the PI, their team and the relevant RDO to prepare and submit the proposal.
For further details please email rpa.enquiries@dcu.ie or visit the RPA website.