Top think-tank admits securing funds ‘challenging’

The country’s top think-tank has admitted that securing funding for research into social issues is proving a serious challenge.

In response to questions from the Irish Examiner the director of the Economic and Social Research Institute, Frances Ruane, said: “Since the downturn, it has been particularly difficult to get funds for research on social issues as the departments and agencies’ budgets for research have been cut.”

Under the ESRI’s funding model it currently receives €2.7m directly in grant aid from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, in addition to raising a further €3.5m annually for economic and social research.

Prof Ruane stressed that the ESRI had not suffered any disproportionate cuts from the Department of Public Expenditure, but accepted that raising the additional revenue, particularly for social research, was proving difficult.

“Programmes have life cycles and some come to an end and other start up,” said Prof Ruane. “For example, in recent years we have made proposals that have led to new funded programmes in communications, macro-modelling and behavioural economics and we are about to start a new programme of research on housing. Right now we are looking for funds to support research on a range of areas: children, household consumption in the face of austerity, SMEs, and export growth.

“The challenge of getting funding is a longstanding issue for us and goes back to the 1980s. We have our research strategy but the balance of research does reflect who is actually willing and able to fund programmes.”

In its last annual report the ESRI admitted the absence of funding had meant the limiting of research in areas such as demography, emigration, labour markets, income distribution, social inclusion and equality, at a time when “evidence for policy is critical at a time of austerity”.

Prof Ruane said: “We manage the challenges by researchers moving across different areas in response to funding availability.”