BACKGROUND PAPER

RESEARCH & INNOVATION

Note: The views expressed in this background document do not purport to reflect the views of the Minister or the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
TABLE OF CONTENTS

1Introduction

Foreword

Executive Summary

Introduction

2Current Agri-Food R&D Infrastructure

3 Funding of Agri-Food R&I

4Context in which a Strategy for 2025 must be developed

5Future Strategy for Agri-Food Research

6Annexes

Annex 1: Glossary of Terms

Annex 2: Public Funding for Agri-Food Research & Innovation

Annex 3: NRPE National Metrics and Targets 36

Annex 4: National Research & Innovation Funder’s Areas of Activity on the Research Continuum 37

Annex 5: ERANETS of interest to DAFM 38

1Introduction

Foreword

Research and Codex Division has examined the agri-food[1] research and innovation landscape and developed a number of recommendations that may form the basis of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine’s efforts in the coming years.

The Department’s overall objective must be to ensure the development of research to provide solutions to global challenges like Food Security, Climate Change, Energy Supply, Resource Efficiency, Aging Population while paying due cognisance to Sustainability in all its forms. From DAFM’s perspective, ensuring that we continue to address the critical research components of these challenges, in an economic climate that currently restricts research funding, requires us to examine all aspects of our research strategy and to develop key actions that will ensure that our research community continue to deliver excellent solutions. In addition, the Economic Recovery Plan and the Report of the National Research Prioritisation Exercise puts further pressure on funding agencies thatoperate at a Public Good level to demonstrate the fruits of taxpayer’s investment. This is a challenge that DAFM is equipped to engage in and this paper presents some of the tools needed.

The paper is intended as an initial internal discussion document which may then be used as a basis for broader consultation with a view to developing the RTDI component of the proposed 2025 Strategy.

Executive Summary

This paper gives an overview of the current agri-food research and development infrastructure and existing funding mechanisms. It also summarises the challenges, global and national, facing the sector and then goes on to outline some actions that could be taken in order to respond to these challenges in the period up to 2025. These actions, which are listed below, relate mainly to DAFM although it is accepted that, as the consultation process with the relevant DAFM funded agencies (e.g. Teagasc, Marine Institute) unfolds, other actions specific to these agencies will also become apparent.

Action / Who
Complete the elaboration, publication and launch of the Strategic Research & Innovation Agenda (SRIA) for food relevant NRPE priority areas or parts thereof in particular ‘Sustainable Food Production & Processing’ and ‘Food for Health’. / DAFM Research Div.
Promote and implement the recently published Strategic Research Agenda for the Forest Sector “Forest Research Ireland” (FORI).
/ DAFM Research Div.
Cooperate with other funders to implement the content of the SRIA in a manner that ensures complementary use of the various competitive funding programmes used by relevant funders in particular SFI, EI, HRB, EPA & IRC. / DAFM Research Div.
Continue to operate the newly formed NAFRIA Group to continuously review the agri-food strategic research & innovation agenda used to guide the content of research calls and to monitor the impact of funded research. / DAFM Research Div.
Develop and roll out a Rapid Response Studies programme to enable DAFM to commission dedicated work needed to urgently respond to unforeseen events outside of normal calls. / DAFM Research Div.
Continue to work constructively with other Departments and funding agencies via the NRPE/PAG process with a view to enabling achievement of agreed targets. / DAFM Research Div.
Engage actively in the recently re-activated IDC on SSTI. / DAFM Research Div.
Support KTI to help ensure that knowledge and technology from research DAFM fund is managed properly for the maximum benefit of Irish industry and society. / DAFM Research Div.
Continue to operate the DAFM Research Family Group and National Steering Groups of the JPIs HDHL and FACCE/GRA. / DAFM Research Div.
Increase efforts to encourage North-South cooperation in agri-food research with particular emphasis on Horizon 2020. / DAFM Research Div.
Continue to work with other bodies to facilitate greater Irish institutional and agribusiness involvement in the EU Horizon 2020 Programme. / DAFM Research Div.
Continue active involvement in forums such as SCAR, Bio-economy Panel, BBI States Representative Group in order to help influence the content of H2020 Calls in a manner that suits Ireland. / DAFM Research Div.
Continue to support Irish active involvement in the work of the Global Research Alliance on agricultural greenhouse gases and promote its work among all relevant Irish stakeholders. / DAFM Research Div.
Develop a model to enable Irish RPO involvement in relevant ERANETS in a more targeted, effective, resource efficient, manner. / DAFM Research Div. & Teagasc
Continue to work with other relevant Irish and EUMS national funders to enable effective Irish participation in relevant JPIs such as FACCE & HDHL. / DAFM Research Div.
Continue to actively participate in the work of the UK-Ireland Food Innovation Steering Group in order to facilitate increased innovation among food businesses in the two jurisdictions in pursuance of the objectives outlined by An Taoiseach and the Prime Minister and as a means of assisting successful Irish involvement in the Food KIC Call in 2016. / DAFM Research Div. & Teagasc
Work with relevant governmental bodies in Ireland, Northern Ireland and the USA to extend the US-Ireland R&D Partnership Programme to include selected elements of agri-food research and then facilitate Irish RPO applicants. / DAFM Research Div.
Engage with all relevant stakeholders in the development ofa National Bioeconomy Strategy. / DAFM Research Div.
Continue to support Irish active participation in the work of the Codex Alimentarius Commission including further refinement of the DAFM-hosted Irish Codex Advisory Committee (ICAC) such as setting up ad-hoc sub-group on particular issues as and when required. / DAFM

Introduction

The purpose of this document is to examine how the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine does business and to stimulate discussion on ideas that may form the basis of the Department’s approach to research and innovation over the next period of time.

The mission statement of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) is:

“To lead the sustainable development of the agri-food and marine sector and to optimise its contribution to national and economic development of natural environment”.

The mission covers a multitude and presents a significant challenge to the research agenda of DAFM. The changing face of the agri-food and marine sector means a constantly moving agenda needing to be informed / underpinned by sound scientific research. Research across these domains is a multidisciplinary activity with an ever-expanding range of sciences that have redefined the term “agriculture”. DAFMprovides research funding to Agriculture, Food, and Forestry indirectly via grant-in-aid support to Teagasc and the Marine Institute and directly through a number of competitive funding programmes that are mainly ‘public good’ in nature. Food research is carried out under the Food Institutional Research Measure (FIRM), agriculture research via the Research Stimulus Fund (RSF) and forest research via the Programme of Competitive Forest Research for Development (CoFoRD). This ‘public good’ support provides funding to a range of Research Performing Organisations (RPOs) across an increasingly multidisciplinary, inter-institutional constituency. The ‘public good’ programmes, in particular, have been at the forefront in the development of a core expertise that is accessible and usable at end user level be it in the agriculture, food, fisheries or forestry domains and, importantly, informs policy makers on the scientific justifications for policy development. Other State agencies that support research and innovation in the sector include EI, EPA, HRB, IRC and SFI.

During most of the first decade of this century, there was unprecedented support for Irish research, whereby national calls were annual events. The economic downturn of the last 6 years has required a much more prudent approach albeit one that still fosters knowledge creation for the benefit of the agri-food industry. The Economic Recovery Plan and the NRPE strongly support continued investment in research and education with an added emphasis on innovation. The continuing pressure on public finances combined with signs of an upturn in the economy generally means that an examination of how we support research infrastructure and how we improve value for money and advance research priorities is timely.

2Current Agri-Food R&D Infrastructure

The focus on agricultural, food, marine and forest research has been the linchpin of the Irish research and development strategy for a generation. A robust inter-dependence has been built up between researchers and practitioners (farmers and food business operators) in these four areas which have helped secure a sustainable economy. In terms of Agriculture and Food, the three ‘public good’ research funding programmes operated by DAFM (FIRM and RSF and CoFoRD) have contributed significantly to enhancing our international recognition in these areas, and have most certainly delivered added value. However, meeting future international research challenges requires a willingness to evolve to international demands, while maintaining a firm grip on the research areas that best suit the nation. A key to this evolving process is a flexible approach to research infrastructure.

The Irish infrastructural research and development network in the agriculture and food areas is extensive and has embraced much change over the past 15 years. The catalyst for this reformation is that research plays a key role in enhancing international academic recognition and that novel research initiatives provide a fundamental basis for a knowledge economy. Increased levels of public investment has been the driving force behind the reformation, through successive National Development Plans, which place emphasis on research as an instrument of economic growth through sectoral initiatives and generic underpinning programmes such as Centres for Science, Engineering and Technology (CSETs) and the Programme for Research in Third-Level Institutions (PRTLI).

The principal research institution types within the Irish research and development infrastructure, namely Teagasc, the University network, the Institutes of Technology and Department of Agriculture, adopt a multi-disciplinary approach, with specialist units in all of the four key research areas: agriculture, food, marine and forestry.

These principal research infrastructural bodies have been in existence, in one form or another, for several decades. However, their role in research, and their infrastructure have radically changed over time. In order to facilitate this change and embrace an internationally accepted model on infrastructure for research, many of the principal research bodies have embarked on a number of measures to enhance their research and development capacity.

There has been the development of highly specialised research units within the principal institutions by concentrating existing capacity and resources, for example in UCD, the Centre for Food Safety and the Institute of Food and Health, in UCC, the Biosciences Institute. These highly equipped units have rapidly earned international recognition for excellence in research and have attracted international expertise and are providing training for undergraduate and postgraduate students to a level unattainable in the past. Other key measures in the infrastructural reformation has been the willingness to adopt both an intra- and inter-institutional collaborative approach, recognising past strengths of specific institutions, and allowing them to champion ad hoc research programmes on a collaborative basis. For example, in the food & health area, UCD, UCC, TCD and UU have formed the Irish Universities Nutrition Alliance (IUNA);Teagasc has formed strategic alliances with UCC for food research and UCD for agricultural research. The DAFM public good programmes have been particularly effective at forging these strong inter-institutional multidisciplinary alliances, which in the past were an obvious weakness in the Irish infrastructure.

The level of funding provided by the state and theoutcomes from the research conducted are reflected in the recent UCD[2] study which found that Ireland had the 5th most innovative agri-food sector in the EU, behind Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands and Germany. State funding has contributed to the development of this capability, critical mass and infrastructure.

However, private investment in R&I by food businesses is quite low, with FH2020 recommending a doubling of industry investment by 2020. The challenge now is to facilitate further integration of the research base with enterprise.Although RPOs are working closely and in a highly integrated manner with companies, for example through Moorepark Technology Limited, EI and SFI centres, such as Food Health Ireland (FHI) and Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre (APC).

The research and development infrastructure in Ireland has evolved to meet current and future demands of high-end research. The concept of specialised units of research has been embraced across all institutions, and has lead to significant rewards in terms of international recognition. Additionally, the close interactions of these units with industrial partners, especially in the food area, has had added benefits in terms of a streamlined approach and easier downstream commercialisation. Indeed, the overall collaborative approach being adopted by the main institutions, both nationally and internationally, with academic and industrial partners alike, is aiding the development of high calibre expertise within Ireland.

Through the collaborative approach, there is access for researchers in Ireland to research farms, cultivation areas and field trials, pilot dairy and meat processing plants, class 3 laboratories, a broad range of highly specialised well equipped laboratories embracing the modern techniques required to earn international research recognition.

There is a need for a further shift in emphasis from academic outputs only to recognition of commercial activity as a means of measuring performance, something the HEA is conscious of and working towards at present. While this will not lead to self-sufficiency, the added revenue generated from this shift to a commercialisation approach will aid in the funding of future infrastructural modifications and maintaining highly equipped laboratories, thereby maintaining a solid infrastructural platform for future research and development in the agriculture, food, marine and forestry sectors in Ireland.

3. Funding of Agri-Food R&I

The main sources of public funding for agri-food research & innovation in Ireland are DAFM, Enterprise Ireland (EI), Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), the Higher Education Authority (HEA), the Irish Research Council (IRC), the Marine Institute (MI), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Health Research Board (HRB), and the European Commission (EC).

The Department is the primary funder of Agri-Food research in Ireland. It does this in three ways:

Undertakes limited research, mainly related to animal and crop health, and provides testing services at its state of the art laboratory campus at Backweston, Celbridge, Co. Kildare. The research activity focuses on disease diagnosis and surveillance, with little discovery research carried out.

Provides core grant-in-aid funding to many of the agencies under its aegis including Teagasc, Marine Institute, Bord Iascaigh Mara, and Bord Bia which are involved in supporting agri-food research and innovation in one way or another while other bodies, co-funded by DAFM, such as the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF), are also involved in these activities.

Operates three competitive research funding programmes directed at the agri-food sector namely, FIRM, RSF and CoFoRD.

DAFM has funded many research projects under its funding programmes in recent times, with research awards made to over 140 projects under its three programmes in the period 2010 to 2013 amounting to approximately €75 million. DAFM also makes use of FIRM and Stimulus funding allocations to facilitate HEI & RI researcher participation in transnational Calls operated by relevant ERANETS (e.g. EMIDA, ICT-Agri,) and the HDHL & FACCE Joint Programming Initiatives. In addition it has partnered the IRC on its Employment Based Postgraduate Programme, which provides funding for early stage career researchers working in partnership with academia and industry.

The different funders of agri-food research operate along various parts of the research continuum. DAFM’s funding programmes operate in the basic, applied and pre commercial spaces whichseparates it from Enterprise Ireland, the next most significant funder of research in agri-food, who operate more in the commercial and pre-commercial space. An outline of funders activity on the research continuum is given in annex3.