SFI builds Ireland’s research base Scientific research is not only central to economic development; it can also have an impact beyond commerce. We met Professor Mark Ferguson, Director General of Science Foundation Ireland and Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government of Ireland, at his Dublin office to discuss the SFI’s investment strategy and the wider importance of scientific research
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he roots of commercial development can be found in research, with scientists developing the new ideas and knowledge that could drive future growth. Scientific researchers hold vast expertise and technical knowledge, which the commercial sector is keen to tap into as they work to develop new products and services. The value of research is not measured purely in terms of the products it leads to though, and of course the results are by their very nature unforeseeable. While governments and funding agencies want to fund research that will have an impact, scientists still want the freedom to investigate fundamental questions. As David Mitchell once memorably put it; ‘if all academic endeavour had been vetted in advance for practicality we wouldn’t have the aeroplane or the iPhone, just a better mammoth trap’. A mammoth trap may have been useful at one point, but fundamental research is behind much of the material prosperity we enjoy today. As the Director General of Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), Professor Mark Ferguson has long experience in both academia and commerce, which he’s now using to help build Ireland’s research infrastructure. We met Professor Ferguson at his Dublin office to discuss the SFIs investment strategy, and how scientific research supports economic growth.
Scientific research EU Researcher: What types of research does SFI fund? Professor Mark Ferguson: SFI is the major Government funding agency for science in Ireland, our budget is about €150 million per annum. We fund predominantly in three sectors; life sciences - otherwise known as biotechnology - ICT and energy. Those are the three main areas that we fund. EUR: How did you identify those three areas? Are they areas where research can have the greatest commercial impact? MF: When SFI was established around 2000 it was with a view to supporting areas of science that would be of maximum economic and societal benefit to Ireland, and those three areas were identified. We’re interested in funding excellent research with potential impact, and linking it up with companies. There are a very large number of pharmaceutical companies in Ireland. Nearly all of them are in manufacturing, either biologics or small molecules. We have a research centre called the Solid State Pharmaceutical
You always have to explain the relevance of science, which is many-fold. It’s about producing trained people, linkages with companies, attracting them to Ireland and keeping them here, general educational awareness, it’s all those things 26
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