Science Foundation Ireland/Irish Aid SDG Challenge 2022 (€1,000,000 prize)

The SDG Challenge is an opportunity for research teams to develop innovative solutions relating to challenges associated with climate, biodiversity and the environment.

Under this call, in partnership with Irish Aid, applications are invited that contribute to the interconnected areas of SDG 13: Climate Action, SDG 14: Life Below Water and SDG 15: Life on Land.

Objectives

The overarching purpose of the SDG Challenge is to develop transformative, sustainable solutions that will contribute to addressing development challenges under the UN SDGs in Irish Aid’s partner countries.

The SDG Challenge will be run within the challenge-funding framework of the SFI Future Innovator Prize Programme. As such, they share common objectives. Furthermore, the SDG Challenge have its own specific objectives, which are as follows:

• To provide opportunities for Ireland-based researchers to form diverse teams to identify key development challenges where technology can deliver transformative impact with a focus on southern partner countries;
• To enable the development of collaborations between researchers in Ireland and researchers in partner countries where Irish Aid works;
• To support the development, deployment and demonstration of sustainable technologies responding to the identified challenges.
• To promote sustainability and the important role that STEM plays in addressing global sustainability issues and the SDGs.

Funding

The SFI Future Innovator Prize consists of three phases: Concept, Seed and Prize Award.

• Concept: €50k
• Seed: €250k
• Prize: €1M

Eligibility

• The SDG Challenge is intended to support highly motivated, transdisciplinary teams committed to developing transformative, sustainable solutions that will contribute to addressing development challenges under the UN SDGs in Irish Aid’s partner countries.
• It is expected that teams will encompass a range of technical and non-technical skills to address barriers associated with challenge definition and solution deployment, and that they will represent collaborative and equitable partnerships between researchers in Ireland and the partner country.
• Teams must include expertise in the STEM research area underpinning the proposed solution, but should also include knowledge or experience in areas such as, for example, international development, development economics, or behavioural or social sciences, in order to inform the adoption and impact of novel interventions.

Applications to the prize must identify a core applicant/leadership team comprising a minimum of three or maximum of four members:

• Team Lead (mandatory) – to provide technical leadership and to have overall responsibility for delivery of research programme objectives. It is expected that the Team Lead has a demonstrable track record relevant to the proposed solution and must be based in a SFI eligible research body.
• Partner Country Team Co-Lead (mandatory) – to provide technical leadership, bringing research expertise relevant to the application. The Partner Country Team Co-Lead must be based in an eligible HEI or RPO in the partner country.
• Team Co-Lead (optional) – to provide complementary leadership and expertise to that of the Team Lead. The Team Co-Lead must be based in a SFI eligible research body.
• Societal Impact Champion (optional) – to provide non-technical leadership and support to identify and validate challenges in addition to advising on solution development. It is envisaged that the Societal Impact Champion will come from a non-academic sector and have appropriate experience in areas relevant to the societal impact and international development focus of the application. They will play a crucial role in identifying barriers and developing strategies to overcome them. They may also play a key advocacy role and assist in maximizing the societal impact of the solution. The Societal Impact Champion may come from, for example: public sector/government, non-governmental organizations, charities, patient advocacy, philanthropy or civil society. Where a Societal Impact Champion is not included at the application stage, applicant teams should indicate how they will access relevant end-users, stakeholders, etc. to inform the non-technical aspects of the project.

Application

The deadline for submission of applications to this call will be September 22, 2022 (13:00 Dublin Local Time).

Applicants should carefully review the following call documentation including eligibility information before preparing an application. Applicants must use the templates provided below and adhere to all guidelines.

Note that the Team Lead, Partner Country Team Co-Lead and Team Co-Lead must all use the CV Template provided below. The Societal Impact Champion may use a CV format of their choosing.

• SDG Challenge Call Handbook
• SDG Challenge Application Form (Team, Challenge, Solution, Impact)
• SDG Challenge CV Template
• References Template

Applications must be submitted through SFI’s Grants Management System, SESAME