Irish Research Priorities

Today sees the launch by the Government of its Research Prioritisation Plan.

The plan aims to target the majority of the Government's core €500m budget for scientific research on 14 specific areas of greatest opportunity.

To be prioritised, the area had to represent a global market in which Irish-based companies could compete. Ireland must have strengths in related areas already and have the capability of conducting public R&D to exploit the area. Also, a national or global challenge must exist which Ireland needs to respond to.

The 14 priority areas of focus are:

Future Networks & Communications
Data Analytics Management, Security & Privacy   
Digital Platforms, Content & Applications
Connected Health & Independent Living
Medical Devices
Diagnostics
Therapeutics - synthesis formulation, processing and drug delivery
Food for Health
Sustainable Food Production and Processing
Marine Renewable Energy
Smart Grids & Smart Cities
Manufacturing Competitiveness
Processing Technologies and Novel Materials
Innovation in Services and Business Processes

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Mr Richard Bruton, T.D.said at the launch “In recent years we have built up a very substantial base of world-class scientific research taking place in Ireland. The challenge now is to ensure that this activity is translated into commercial outcomes and sustainable businesses and sustainable jobs. With determined implementation of the recommendations of this report we can make sure that this happens”.

As an example in my own field, one of the priority research areas is "Sustainable Food Production and Processing". The report concludes that "global demand for food is projected to increase by 70 per cent over the next 40 years" and that Ireland is ideally placed to exploit such a demand.

"Alongside the need to increase food production is the challenge of doing so in a manner that does not impact on greenhouse gas emissions, water quality, biodiversity or fish stocks. The focus of this priority area is on sustainable, competitive and efficient agri- & marine food production and processing."

"Growth in global population and changing diets in emerging countries are projected to bring about a 70 per cent increase in food demand to feed 9 billion people by 2050. The greatest challenge faced by agriculture is to meet development and sustainability goals, while increasing production. Over the coming decades, there will be increased global competition for land use. This is the ‘food, energy and environment trilemma’, where increased demand for food and energy combine, pressure on land conversion is increased, leading to further climate change, which in turn may affect productivity and availability of land."

Are there areas missing that you would have liked to see included? Let us know by adding a comment below.

You can read the report in full here (pdf).

Public Sector Reform

From a first look at the Public Sector Reform document published today, the following would seem to have an effect on Higher Education, Research and Science sectors:

The Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technology will be merged with the Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences. They will form a single entity under the Higher Education Authority.

Awarding bodies FETAC, HETAC and NQAI are all to be amalgamated under the plans.

The government is to instigate a "critical review" of a larger number of state agencies, with an aim to report back in June 2012 on suggestions to:

• absorb the Advisory Council for Science, Technology and Innovation into the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation.
• absorb the Office of Chief Scientific Advisor to the Government into Science Foundation Ireland.
•  merge the Environmental Protection Agency with the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland

Excuse all the links but in some cases it's interesting to remind oneself what some of these agencies/councils/offices do.

"Plant Science has never been more important"

The work of Plant Scientists is crucial to our long-term survival, according to a hard-hitting letter by an international group of botanists and crop scientists published this week.

After an online consultation, the authors have drawn up a list of 100 important questions that urgently need to be addressed by the next generation of plant biologists.

"Plant science has never been more important" the authors state. Global challenges including the production of abundant safe and nutritious food, shelter, clothes, fibre and renewable energy can only be met, according to the authors, "in the context of a strong fundamental understanding of plant biology and ecology, and translation of this knowledge into field-based solutions".

In order to see what questions plant scientists should be considering, the authors compiled a list of 100 important questions facing plant science research.

The top-ten questions are:

• How do we feed our children's children?

• Which crops must be grown and which sacrificed, to feed the billions?

• How can we deliver higher yields but at the same time reduce environmental impact of agriculture?

• What are the best ways to control invasive species of plants, pests and pathogens?

• Should GM crops require special regulation?

• How can plants curb global warming?

• How do plants contribute to maintaining human life on earth?

• What will be the new scientific approaches central to plant biology in the coming century?

• How do we ensure that society appreciates the importance of plants and how can we attract the "best and brightest" into plant science?

• How do we make sure sound science informs policy decisions?

"Plant science is central to addressing many of the most important questions facing humanity", the authors conclude. The importance of plants also extends well beyond agriculture and horticulture as we "face declining  solid fuel reserves, climate change, and a need for more sustainable methods to produce fuel, fibre, wood and industrial feedstocks".

The authors note that training new plant scientists is essential given the central role they will play in the future:
"As plant science becomes increasingly important, we need to attract the brightest and best to careers in plant research. School education does not include the most interesting or relevant aspects of plant science, and discourages young people from studying the subject at university. This is indefensible in a world with such a strong requirement for outstanding plant scientists, and steps should be taken to put it right".

The authors are clear on the importance of plant science research and future plant scientists:
“Everyone knows that we need doctors, and the idea that our best and brightest should go into medicine is embedded in our culture.  However, even more important than medical care is the ability to survive from day to day; this requires food, shelter, clothes, and energy, all of which depend on plants.

“Plant scientists are tackling many of the most important challenges facing humanity in the twenty-first century, including climate change, food security, and fossil fuel replacement.  Making the best possible progress will require exceptional people.  We need to radically change our culture so that ‘plant scientist’ (or, if we can rehabilitate the term, ‘botanist’) can join ‘doctor’, ‘vet’ and ‘lawyer’ in the list of top professions to which our most capable young people aspire.”

You can read the letter, published in the New Phytologist here.