Dr Nick Vafeas of iCRAG and the UCD School of Earth Sciences has been awarded a prestigious SFI Public Service Fellowship hosted by the Houses of the Oireachtas Library and Research Service.
To coincide with Public Service Innovation Week Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris, TD, has announced 12 research awards which will receive funding through Science Foundation Ireland’s Public Service Fellowship programme. The projects represent a total grant funding in excess of €700,000.
The Fellowship programme offers academic researchers a unique opportunity to be seconded to Government Departments, agencies and the Library & Research Service of the Oireachtas, to work on specific collaborative research projects. The fellowships awarded will foster innovation within the Public Sector by supporting the development and implementation of data-driven and evidence-based approaches.
Announcing the award, Minister Harris, said, “I am delighted to support the SFI Public Service Fellowship initiative which will contribute to the Government’s objective of promoting a culture of innovation through collaboration, knowledge exchange and the development of data-driven and evidence-based solutions. The successful researchers will play a pivotal role in enhancing collaboration between the research community and Government for the benefit of society.”
The Fellowships will have a duration of between 3 and 12 months. Researchers from six higher education institutes; the University of Limerick, University College Dublin, University College Cork, Trinity College Dublin, the Royal College of Surgeons Ireland, and the National University of Ireland Galway, will undertake research projects working within the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, the Oireachtas Research & Library Services, the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.