Arthritis Ireland is a member of Health Research Charities Ireland (HRCI). One of the aims of HRCI is to support charities in Ireland to fund healthcare research to assist them in improving the lives of those they support.

The Health Research Board (HRB) has been co-funding the HRCI-HRB Joint Funding Scheme with the HRCI since 2006. The HRCI-HRB Joint Funding Scheme allows charities to support patient-focused research of particular interest to specific patient groups.

Arthritis Ireland is participating in the HRCI-HRB Joint Funding Scheme in 2021 and will prioritise research projects consistent with our research priorities.

All researchers must submit their applications to Arthritis Ireland directly to be considered for the scheme. The HRB will manage the awards.

Our research priorities

Arthritis Ireland seeks to influence research activities for better treatments, diagnoses and cures.

For this co-funding scheme, we are inviting original, internationally-competitive proposals that are relevant to the research priorities of Arthritis Ireland and align with one or more of the following research areas:

• Patient-focused research
• Mechanisms of disease
• Identification of mechanisms that define early disease, disease progression and response
• Assessment and impact on QOL
• Identification of new therapeutic strategies
• Impact of lifestyle on rheumatic diseases
• Clinical management of rheumatic diseases

Funding available

Arthritis Ireland is seeking to support projects up to €200,000 over 36 months. However, smaller-scale projects and those less than 36 months duration will also be considered.

Application process

Arthritis Ireland invited expressions of interest for the HRCI-HRB Joint Funding Scheme. Following an internal review of all expressions of interest received, applicants were notified of the shortlisting outcome on Monday 18 October. Shortlisted applicants are invited to submit the full application form by 5pm Friday 12 November. The relevant documents are available to download below.

Timelines

Below is an indicative timeline for the award.

Expression of interest applications open	Friday 17 September 2021
Deadline for submission of EOI to Arthritis Ireland	11am Friday 15 October 2021
Submission of full application to Arthritis Ireland (if shortlisted)	5pm Friday 12 November 2021
Submission of shortlisted applications to HRB	Early March 2022
Applicant notification	July 2022
Contracts issued	September 2022
Research project start date	November 2022

Further information

Further information on the call including eligibility criteria of applicants and project, application process, review process, information on PPI, etc. can be found in the HRCI-HRB Instructions to Applicants document.

All proposals must meet the eligibility criteria outlined in the HRCI-HRB Instructions to Applicants document and also address the research priorities of Arthritis Ireland.

Information on the HRCI-HRB Joint Funding Scheme can also be found on:

www.hrci.ie

www.hrb.ie

Contact

If you have any questions, please make contact via email on [email protected]

Related documents to download

Part A2: Charity Overview

Part B1 Application form

Part C1 Collaboration Agreement Form

Part C2 Infrastructure Agreement Form

Part C3: Warrant for International Host Institutions

Part D1: Principal Investigator/Co-Applicants Signature Form

Part D2: Host Institution Signature Form

Part E: Peer Review Form

Part F: Applicant Response

Part G: Declaration of Conflict of Interest for Committee Members