David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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1627. To ask the Minister for Health the manner in which Health Research Board funding is allocated and expended; the manner in which an individual may gain access to Health Research Board funding; the official or unit in the Department responsible for sanctioning or authorising such expenditure; if all appointments under health research board funding are subject to an open competition; the manual which lays out the operating standards for the health research board and awarding of funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20375/22]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The Health Research Board (HRB) is the lead agency in Ireland responsible for funding and commissioning research in the areas of clinical and translational medicine, population health sciences and health services research.

Health Research Board Funding Allocation and Expenditure

Like all public sector agencies, the HRB submits requests to The Department of Health, through the Research Services and Policy Unit, for funding to deliver on its strategic goals each June as part of the estimates process. This funding supports all aspects of the current Strategy (www.hrb.ie/strategy-2025/), which is designed to address current national and European health policy objectives. In 2022, the total recurrent allocation is €35.85 million and the total capital allocation is €10 million. It is not unusual for some additional funding to be allocated to themed or targeted initiatives. Some examples include:

- Funding that was provided to the HRB to support the Government response to Covid-19, including for a national covid biobank, participation in the WHO Solidarity trial for Covid-19 treatments and a series of supports for Expert Advisory Group on Rapid Antigen Testing;

- Targeted funding to support the National Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA), valued at €1.5m per annum;

- Funding of €400K per annum to conduct research to support the National Drugs Strategy;

- Funding in 2022 to advance research and research capacity building aligned with Sharing the Vision, the National Mental health strategy. 

Such targeted initiatives are typically identified for additional funding by the Department of Health to support the policy priorities of the Department, as well as wider Government commitments.

Application Processes for Health Research Board Awards

The HRB has rigorous, transparent policies and processes in relation to both the application for, and assessment of, research awards. All applications for HRB funding are subject to international peer review, and the outcome of any application process is never predetermined. The HRB provides funding through several funding instruments (projects and programmes, individual or group-based career awards, funding for networks, research infrastructure) that are appropriate to its strategic objectives. The HRB strives for a balanced portfolio of awards that address its five-year strategic plan along with the needs of the Irish health and research and innovation systems. The design, objectives, funding envelope, eligibility criteria and desired outcome of funding schemes must be approved by the HRB Executive and Board before they are opened to applicants.

For health researchers wishing to access HRB funding support, there are different ways in which applications for funding are invited, depending on the nature of the scheme/objective topic.  The vast majority of HRB funding involves an open competition. However, because Ireland is a small country, it is sometimes practical to make just one award for a national consortium or national research programme in a particular area to avoid duplication of effort or research. For example, the HRB funds just one, national network to support public, patient, and carer involvement in research. In this case the universities were invited to work together to submit one application and, as with all applications to the HRB, this single application was subject to international peer review.

In addition to the review of any application, an award can only be made to a recognised HRB Host Institution that can comply with HRB Grant Terms and Conditions. To achieve/retain Host Institution status, research performing institutions must apply to the HRB by completing a detailed application and providing supporting financial and policy documentation and this must be approved to the Executive Team. 

Detailed guidance notes are provided for applicants for each funding scheme that set out the scope, objectives, eligibility and assessment criteria, the expected contribution of partners and co-applicants, budget availability (and requirements for co-funding where appropriate), award duration, governance requirements, and knowledge transfer and dissemination requirements, public/patient involvement, open access to outputs/data, and other matters as appropriate. These factors are assessed in a robust and systematic way throughout the review process. 

Health Research Board Governance Structures

The HRB Board ensures the highest standards of governance to manage all aspects of its business, achieve its mission and objectives, and to meet the necessary standards of accountability, integrity, and propriety. It complies fully with the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies.

The work and practices of the HRB are subject to an annual audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General.  The HRB has pro-actively participated in a number of Organisational Reviews by international panels in recent decades to ensure that its policies, practices and procedures remain fit-for purpose and aligned with best international practice. The HRB is an active member of Science Europe, the association representing major public organisations that fund or perform excellent, ground-breaking research in Europe.

As the HRB is a publicly-funded organisation, there is an onus to account to Government and the public, for the funds allocated and the returns on that investment. The HRB maintains an Evaluation Strategy and this comprises (i) ongoing monitoring and review of all awards through annual reports and interim reviews, (ii) the collection of a detailed set of evaluation metrics, based on the Payback Framework of Buxton and Hanney, at the end of all awards and (iii) periodic reviews/evaluations of particular initiatives, scheme or fields of research (the most recent evaluation report may be viewed here: Outputs, outcomes, and emerging impacts: Results from HRB-funded awards that completed in 2018–19). Finally, the Research Strategy and Funding Directorate of the HRB has a suite of policies that it keeps under regular review, to underpin all aspects of its work, from application review to award management.

All HRB policies referenced in this response are fully available at the Health Research Board website: Home (hrb.ie). This information includes a list of open and closed funding schemes, a full description of how to access funding applications, the names and affiliations of review panels, and a list of funded awards.