New RIA/RSE Ireland/Scotland Bilateral Network Grants Open to Applications

Funding to strengthen cooperation and learning between outstanding researchers, academics and practitioners in Scotland and Ireland within specific thematic areas.

The Ireland/Scotland Bilateral Network Grants are a partnership initiative between the Royal Irish Academy (RIA) and the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE), with the support of the Scottish Government Office in Ireland and the Department of Foreign Affairs. The aim of the grant scheme is to strengthen cooperation and learning between outstanding researchers, academics and practitioners in Scotland and Ireland within the thematic areas identified within the 2021 Irish-Scottish Bilateral Review. The overall objectives are to:

  • Strengthen co-operation and learning between Scotland and Ireland through bilateral funding for joint projects
  • Foster partnerships/networks within and beyond academia
  • Encourage the initiation of new partnerships and/or the development of existing partnerships
  • Contribute to policy discussion in Ireland and Scotland in a specified thematic area

The 2021 call invites applications that address the theme of ‘Revival, Resilience and Recovery: Cultural and Arts Sectors post-COVID-19’. Project types can include, for example, research networks, research and practice networks, and cultural exhibitions. Applications that push traditional boundaries by bringing together multiple sectors are particularly welcome. The project can build on existing international collaboration between the two countries or may demonstrate plans for the development of new collaborative networks.

The scheme is open to academic researchers working in partnership with the cultural and arts sectors. In each application, the lead applicant must be a full or part-time academic in any discipline and a tenured and/or salaried staff of a higher education institution or research institute in Scotland or Ireland.

Awards are open to all career stages. Applications are particularly encouraged that are either led by early career researchers or include early career researchers as active participants within the proposed project.

Each application must include a partner in the other country (ie those with a lead applicant in Ireland must have a Co-Investigator in Scotland and vice versa). Application partners may come from any area of research and practice within the area of culture and arts. Each application may have a number of partners/Co-Investigators across both countries if appropriate to the project.

The maximum award is £12,500 and the project can last for between three and six months. Eligible costs include research time, research consumables, library fees, publication/dissemination costs, research-related travel, accommodation and subsistence.

Applications must be submitted by the deadline of 11 June 2021 (12:00).