Trinity’s research accounts for last year show that 68 per cent of research income came from state funding, accounting for nearly €68 million, while Trinity’s four research institutes made up 14.7 per cent of the total research income.
The research accounts relate to the year ending 30th September 2016, with a total of nearly €97 million being raised in research funding, a 6.4 per cent increase from the year before. Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) makes up the majority of the Irish exchequer funding, contributing €44.2 million to Trinity’s overall research budget. This is just under €10 million more compared to last year, totalling 46 per cent of the total research income.
The last four years have seen a positive growth in the number of research accounts in Trinity, with over 750 more accounts recorded last year compared to 2012/13. There has also been a positive growth in the balance of the research account book, with over €4.8 million added to the balance at the end of the year compared to 2014/15.
The four main research institutes outlined in the report have a long history of producing some of Trinity’s best research. Housed in the Naughton Institute, the Centre for Research on Adaptive Nanostructures and Nanodevices (CRANN)’s main research focus is in the area of nanoscience. Largely funded by SFI, it generated €12.2 million of research funding last year. Trinity Long Room Hub, founded in 2006, is the main focus in Trinity for arts and social sciences research, generating €654,783 last year.
Trinity’s Institute of Neuroscience, which made the second largest contribution of over €1.4 million to the research funds, houses research programmes on the subject of neuroscience, and is also funded by the SFI. The Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute (TBSI) only contributed €15,296 this year, whereas in for the year ending September 2015, it generated €66,000. Set up during the height of the recession in 2011, TBSI celebrated its fifth birthday last September.
