A core principle of the funding provided under the EPA Research Programme is that it promotes the development of research capacity on the island of Ireland. Therefore, applications for funding will only be considered where the lead applicant organisation is located on the island of Ireland.

Whilst co-applicant organisations located in other jurisdictions may participate in projects funded by the EPA Research Programme (as Co-applicants), they are restricted in terms of the categories of expenditure considered eligible for funding. Further details are provided in the EPA Research Programme 2021-2030 Guidelines and Terms & Conditions

Yes. When registering as an applicant on the EPA's Grant Management and Application Portal you will need to include the details of your organisation. Organisations must be approved by the EPA – if your organisation has not been approved by the EPA you will not be able to submit an application.

Yes, you may submit more than one proposal but you may only submit one application for any one Call Topic Identifier, as stated in the Technical Description Document. Please note that if you submit multiple applications, they must be distinct in terms of the content of the application and you must have the capacity to deliver should multiple projects be successful.

Applicants do not need to be permanent members of staff to submit an application but do need to have a contract with the lead organisation at the time of application. Additionally, at the point of award, they will need to confirm that they have a contract for duration of the project. Only salary costs that can be demonstrated as being used for the specific purpose of performing relevant work packages of the proposed project are eligible. For publicly funded Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), Research Performing Organisations (RPOs) and other Public / State Body Organisations, buy-out of time for salaried staff members is not permitted.

Those on a temporary contract should consult their Organisation’s policy on whether those on temporary contracts are permitted to apply for Research funding as a lead applicant. This should include confirmation that they will have access to the necessary resources, e.g., equipment, office space, research space, etc., to conduct the project, if funded.

Salaries for team members at the level of Research Fellow and Senior Research Fellow may be requested and should be included in the budget template under the category “Senior Postdoc”. Research Fellow and Senior Research Fellow are considered to be senior team members with significant responsibility in the context of the research project. Requests for these salary scales must be sufficiently justified in this context. Applicants should refer to the role descriptions in the IUA Research Career Framework for more information.