SFI Confidential 1

Science Foundation Ireland

Presentation to Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Science.

31 January 2008

SFI Confidential 2

Science Foundation Ireland

VISION:• Through strategic investments in the people, ideas and

partnerships essential to outstanding research in strategic areas, Science Foundation Ireland will help build in Ireland research of globally recognised excellence and nationally significant economic importance.

MISSION:• SFI will build and strengthen scientific and engineering research

and its infrastructure in the areas of greatest strategic value to Ireland’s long-term competitiveness and development.

SFI Confidential 3

Frontiers (academic) Research & Economic Output: Cause, Pause & Effect

economic

academic

research of…globally recognised excellence

Ou

tpu

t

research of…nationally significant economic importance

Time

SFI Confidential 4

Technology Transfer EI

SFI

IDA

• Tech Transfer

• HEIs

From Brains to

Business

investment €€€

Return €€€€€€€€€

SFI Confidential 5

SFI is not working in isolation

SSTI

SFI

IDA

EI

HEA

HEIs

HRB

DCENR

IRCSET

Teagasc

Marine

FAS

Others

Active engagement of SFI with

SFI Confidential 6

The SSTI Challenge 1The PI as the fulcrum

•The PI is at the centre of what

SFI is about…..

•PhDs, papers, commercial

opportunities will flow from the

PIs

•and SSTI demands 350 (240)

PIs over and above existing

levels!

•Targets being Achieved

1 PI

5 PhD

3 Post Doc

1 Tech

Figure 2: The PI-centric Research Team

1 PI

5 PhD

3 Post Doc

1 Tech

Figure 2: The PI-centric Research Team

SFI Confidential 7

Estimated number of Post Docs / PhDs

Award/PI Category # Post Docs # PhDs

PI/Invest/Fellow/Res

Prof/PICA/PIYRA/

Maths

530 780

CSET 150 140

SRC 0 0

RFP 0 450

Approx. Total 680 1370

SFI Confidential 8

Number of Articles Published in Journals by SFI-funded Researchers

2002 20032004 2005 2006

Total Journal Articles Published 135 453

1,308 1,252 1,318

SFI Confidential 9

Breakdown of Funding by HEI

DCU8%

RCSI2%

NUIG9%

NUI Maynooth5%

TCD26%

Institutes of Technology

1%

UL6%

UCD17%

UCC13%

Tyndall12%

Dublin Institute of Technology

1%

Other0%

Other

Institutes of Technology

Dublin Institute of Technology

Dublin City University

NUI Galw ay

NUI Maynooth

RCSI

Trinity College Dublin

Tyndall National Institute

University College Cork

University College Dublin

University of Limerick

SFI Confidential 10

Research Impact

SFI Research Impact: National and International Comparisons, 2006 (Virtual Impact Factors*) n = 22,378

Scopus Subject Area SFI Ireland World

Agriculture and Biological Sciences

108 99 100

Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

117 102 100

Immunology and Microbiology 111 102 100

Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics

109 99 100

Neuroscience 125 94 100

All BIO 115 99 100

Computer Science 132 105 100

Materials Science 181 122 100

Physics 116 98 100

All ICT 141 109 100

Source: INDECON Bibliometric Assessment of SFI Research Outputs

SFI Confidential 11

2008 Budget Payout Projection

32%

64%

2% 2%

Programmes with direct links withIndustrial Research

Capacity & Research Competence Building

Raising the international profile of Ireland

OutreachPI, RFP, PIYRA, PICA, SIRG, Stokes etc.

CSETs/SRCs

Conf. & W’shops, Waltons etc

STARs, UREKA, DELL/SFI Scholarship, Women in Science

SFI Confidential 12

Total Commitments by Category

69%

1%

1%

29%

Programmes with direct links withIndustrial Research

Capacity & Research CompetenceBuilding

Raising the international profile ofIreland

Outreach

CSETs/SRCs

PI, RFP, PIYRA, PICA, SIRG, Stokes etc.

Conf. & W’shops, Waltons etc

STARs, UREKA, DELL/SFI Scholarship, Women in Science

SFI Confidential 13

Build up of Industry Engagement

Suite of programmes now developed;

• Smaller Scale; Single company – single PI

• PI Industrial Supplement Programme – first awards 2004

• Medium Scale; 2+ companies – 2+ PI’s

• Strategic Research Clusters Programme – first awards 2007

• Large Scale; Multiple Companies – multiple PI’s

• CSET Programme – first awards 2003

• In addition, Industry collaborations develop organically across all programmes

SFI Confidential 14

PI Industrial Supplement Programme

• 27 PI Industry Supplements funded to date

• Irish SMEs; Sigmoid Biotechnologies, Eblana Photonics, Alimentary Health, Compass Informatics, Aerogen

• MNCs; Intel, Siemens, IBM, Seagate, SUN, Oracle, Eli Lilly, Agilent, Mitsubishi, Dow Corning

SFI Confidential 15

CSETs

• 8 Centres funded to date – 42 companies now engaged

• Acting as magnets to attract new R&D; both academic talent and

companies

• Additional companies continue to be added – HP (CRANN), GSK

(APC), Smith & Nephew (REMEDI), Xilinx (CTVR), Nortel (DERI)

• 4 CSET (REMEDI, APC, CRANN, DERI) entering 2nd term funding

request process in 2008

• 2 further potential CSETs at final review stage

SFI Confidential 16

Strategic Research Clusters

• 12 projects funded in 2007• Approx 490 highly skilled personnel including senior PIs,

Post docs and PhD Students• Extensive academic collaboration with an average of > 3

HEIs per cluster• 48 companies engaged in projects, again both Irish SMEs

and MNCs• 2nd Competition now live (including special call for

Financial Mathematics proposals)• Results expected Q4’08

SFI Confidential 17

SFI CSET and PI Industry Collaborations

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Year

# o

f In

tera

ctio

ns

Indigenous Irish

MNC Irish base - Irish collaboration

MNC Irish base - Overseas collaboration

Overseas collaboration

Total

Total PI and CSET awardees Collaboration with Industry

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Indigenous Irish 3 24 46 50 73

MNC Irish Base –

Irish Collaboration

1 17 60 65 73

MNC Irish Base –

Overseas

Collaboration

0 6 12 36 29

Overseas

Collaboration

3 14 68 80 89

Total 7 61 186 231 264

SFI Confidential 18

SFI – Is it working?

• Increase in quality/quantity in human capital

• Increased international visibility (Stokes etc.)

• Increased industry collaboration (CSETS/SRC/PIs)

• Coordinated Inter Agency implementation

• Plan in place and operational

• Industry focus; Internal reorganisation in place, planning & strategy implementation

• Increased emphasis on visibility by Stakeholders, i.e, society, industry, scientists, HEIs