The aim of the awards is to significantly develop overall research capacity particularly in priority areas of geoscience research as outlined in the National Geoscience Programme 2007-2013. Following the recent announcement by Mr. Noel Dempsey TD, Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources of these awards, applications are now sought from geoscience research groups who wish to further develop their research teams.
Eligibility:
The research groups should be located in Institutions on the Island of Ireland (32 counties) who have the capacity to conduct innovative research and to provide research training. While typically located in Higher Education Institutions, research groups located in other organisations actively collaborating with Higher Education Institutes, will also be considered.
Priority Research Categories:
Applicants are sought to achieve the following priority research objectives -
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To facilitate open access to GSI data on a web-enabled basis. A research partner experienced in digitalising and web-enabling data is sought. A number of the researchers from the successful research team will be based at the Geological Survey of Ireland (GSI).
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To establish an Irish Geoscience Graduate Programme on an all-island basis which will provide access to specialised geoscience modular courses.
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To produce and distribute geoscience outreach products (for example, DVDs, rock specimen sets, classroom posters) to primary and/or secondary schools.
- To conduct high quality research on key geoscience areas especially relating to deep geothermal energy, carbon sequestration in geological formations and groundwater resources.
Details of Available Funding:
Awards will be made to research groups to fund the following;
Up to seven years funding (subject to mid-term review) for researchers who have obtained a PhD and have usually completed a post doctoral fellowship.
These are 4 year awards to geoscience graduates with allowance for the students to carry out part of their PhD training at International centres of excellence.
These placements are designed to introduce undergraduate geoscience students to the research activities of the groups.
Application and Closing Date:
As this is a group award scheme applications must be by research groups rather than individual researchers.
A guide for applicants is available by following this link 
. This guide includes details of the 4 priority research categories, the criteria used to evaluate the proposals and the information which must be provided as part of the application.
The awards will cover salaries (and stipends), associated employer’s costs and a contribution to direct and indirect research costs.
An information meeting for applicants will be held at Ballymascanlon Hotel, Dundalk, at 13:45 on Monday 2 April 2007.
Applications should be sent to Michael Kennedy, Geological Survey of Ireland, Beggars Bush, Haddington Road, Dublin 4 by signed copy and by email to michael.kennedy@gsi.ie by 17:00 on 18 April 2007.
Contracts
Contracts will be concluded with the successful research groups through their parent Institution (legal entity) following evaluation by international experts. The research groups will be responsible for the recruitments of the individual researchers and students following standard guidelines.