IHA-Submission-on-Successor-to-SSTI
IHA-Submission-on-Successor-to-SSTI
IHA-Submission-on-Successor-to-SSTI
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
abeyance. As the internati<strong>on</strong>alizati<strong>on</strong> of research and of early career researchertraining intensify in pace, Ireland’s internati<strong>on</strong>al standing is at risk if it does notimplement measures needed as a matter of urgency <strong>to</strong> ensure the sustainability ofthe humanities. The humanities are a key research-intensive area in Irishuniversities, as their outstanding record of success shows. Investment in thehumanities can therefore be expected <strong>to</strong> generate a net return and <strong>to</strong> help <strong>to</strong> securethe achievement of Ireland’s ambitious target for research income from Horiz<strong>on</strong>2020.Ireland’s new nati<strong>on</strong>al research strategy must establish the policy and fundingframework within which instituti<strong>on</strong>s, funding bodies and the humanities communitycan all deliver <strong>on</strong> their resp<strong>on</strong>sibilities as they seek <strong>to</strong> build <strong>on</strong> recent internati<strong>on</strong>alsuccess. The most recent figures available, from 2011, show that funding <strong>to</strong> theIRCHSS amounted <strong>to</strong> <strong>on</strong>ly <strong>on</strong>e per cent of the <strong>to</strong>tal nati<strong>on</strong>al research budget, a levelwell below what is required <strong>to</strong> achieve sustainability. (This compares badly withother similarly sized EU members states.) Despite this, researchers in the humanitiesin Irish instituti<strong>on</strong>s have been successful at all levels in the funding schemes of theEuropean Research Council and in the Marie Skłodowska-Curie acti<strong>on</strong>s. Theirc<strong>on</strong>tinued success will depend <strong>on</strong> formulating a research strategy which is in keepingwith the levels of ambiti<strong>on</strong> which researchers have already dem<strong>on</strong>strated.Specific measures of support and policy development which are required include thefollowing:a. recognize that the significance of research and its social benefits are not <strong>on</strong>lyec<strong>on</strong>omic and establish the humanities as a nati<strong>on</strong>al research domain <strong>on</strong> thisbasisb. increase funding for the humanities in the budget of the Irish Research Council <strong>to</strong>five per cent of the overall nati<strong>on</strong>al budget for research by 2020, and <strong>to</strong> eight percent by 2023, with additi<strong>on</strong>al support for reliable and regular project funding inparticularc. devise a support scheme in the humanities which matches the SFI ERC SupportProgramme with dedicated funding for individual principal investiga<strong>to</strong>rs (what isnow termed in some quarters a nati<strong>on</strong>al ‘mini-ERC’)d. recognize that humanities play a key role in future proofing scientific andtechnology driven research by providing a platform from within which reflecti<strong>on</strong><strong>on</strong> the societal impacts of technology can take placee. draw <strong>on</strong> expertise in the humanities in promoting a collaborative, creative andsustainable ec<strong>on</strong>omy and in building an open, engaging and innovative publicsec<strong>to</strong>rf. work <strong>to</strong> extend the impact of humanities research through transdisciplinaryresearch funding callsg. through Ireland’s excellent Horiz<strong>on</strong> 2020 support network, engage with thehumanities community <strong>to</strong> ensure that research questi<strong>on</strong>s and perspectives in thehumanities are brought <strong>to</strong> bear <strong>on</strong> all of the societal challenges in Horiz<strong>on</strong> 2020h. develop dedicated funding streams <strong>to</strong> stimulate the mainstreaming of digitalhumanities as a methodology across a broad range of disciplines and as aframework for evaluating the impact of technological change4