After the process officially closed on Friday last, we are delighted to confirm that we have received 13 research proposals from researchers and research institutions under our 9th Research Funding Call.
The call was launched in mid-July, with applications sought on a range of epilepsy research priorities – as identified by people with epilepsy and their families.
The closing of the call for proposals marks the end of the first step of this latest call. Over the coming weeks and months, a detailed review process will determine which projects will be submitted to the Health Research Board (HRB) for co-funding consideration under the Health Research Board/Health Research Charities Joint Funding scheme.
This process ensures that projects supported by Epilepsy Ireland are of the highest quality and are of potential benefit to people with epilepsy. As part of this scheme, Epilepsy Ireland will fund 50% of a project (if selected), with the HRB providing the other 50%.
We would like to thank all researchers and research institutions who have taken the time to submit applications. We look forward to assessing the applications received and look forward to engaging with researchers on their proposals.
We hope that by the end of this process in the Autumn of next year, we will be announcing further research investments which will add to €1.5 million that we have already invested in a range of epilepsy research projects.
With the first step of this important process now complete, we would also like to take this opportunity to thank all our supporters and volunteers who have made this latest research funding call possible. Without the incredible fundraising efforts of our supporters and their vital donations year-round, we would not be able to potentially make new research investments.
While the pre-application process for this latest funding call has now ended, we would like to remind researchers and research institutions that we can still assist non-financially to their ongoing research projects or proposals. In a positive orgranisational development in recent months, we appointed our first Research Officer.
Despite our investments in epilepsy research – and indeed, our various other non-financial contributions to epilepsy research – our activity in research was historically the only aspect of our organisation that didn’t have a direct personnel presence.
In addition, growing our presence in the epilepsy research community, both nationally and internationally, was identified as a key strategic aim within our current strategic plan 2022-2026 – with the creation of this role a long-term aspiration for our organisation. Despite the role being a long-term aspiration, and our ever-growing growing presence within the epilepsy research community in Ireland over the past decade, financial constraints and competing priorities within our organisation has meant that the creation of the role had not been possible historically. However, this recently changed thanks to a significant personal donation from a donor (who wishes to remain anonymous) who has an interest in research, and an admiration for all our work on behalf of people with epilepsy and their families.
The donation provided us with the opportunity to make the Research Officer role a reality for an initial period of two years.
Our Research Officer can assist researchers and research institutions in various ways, including but not limited to:
- Public and Patient Involvement (PPI) in research
- Research grant applications and queries
- Sharing research requests and opportunities with our community
- Supporting collaborations and knowledge exchange
- Disseminating your published research
- Providing letters of support for potential funding applications
- Providing quotes from the Patient Organisation perspective on potential impacts of research
Should you wish to contact our new Research Officer, Grace Hallinan, you can do so by emailing ghallinan@epilepsy.ie.
In the meantime, we would like to thank everyone for their continued support and if you would like to learn more about our previous research investments, visit the ‘Research’ section of our website.