Collaborative Research Network in Mental Health Scheme

The HRB has a strong track record of supporting collaborative research networks in key policy areas, and the Collaborative Research Networks scheme is a competitive funding mechanism designed to support networks that bring together interdisciplinary teams to address key health and social care challenges in Ireland.

Mental health has been identified as a key area requiring targeted research investment, given its profound impact on individuals, families, and communities, as well as the urgent need for stronger, more coordinated research to drive meaningful changes in policy and practice.

Aims

• The aim of the Collaborative Research Network in Mental Health is to bring together all relevant stakeholders to promote and advance research in mental health and ensure its application to policy and practice, informed by the National Mental Health Research Strategy.
• This network will be co-produced with lived experience experts and will serve the mental health research community on an all-island basis, with an identity independent of any single institution.

Objectives

• The objectives of the network include:
  • Create a sustainable, independent network that represents and connects all relevant stakeholders in mental health research across the island of Ireland
  • Ensure meaningful engagement with people with lived experience of mental health difficulties and embed their involvement at all levels of the network, in line with the National Mental Health Research Strategy’s core principles
  • Identify and address challenges in conducting and applying mental health research, particularly those affecting knowledge users such as policymakers, practitioners, and those with lived experience
  • Build capacity for research and the use of research evidence in mental health policy and service delivery, including through integrated knowledge translation
  • Facilitate multidisciplinary collaboration that integrates research across disciplines, service delivery models, and policy contexts to drive impactful, system-wide improvements
  • Engage, support, and enable early-career researchers, ensuring that the network provides structured pathways for training, mentorship, and participation in collaborative mental health research
  • Foster a culture of co-production to ensure that research is designed, conducted, and applied in partnership with people with lived experience, knowledge users, including voluntary and community organisations and mental health service providers
  • Communicate and disseminate research findings widely to engage policymakers, practitioners, community organisations, and the broader public
  • Establish a network governance structure that ensures a transparent, inclusive, and ongoing process for bringing in new members,
  • Ensure that network activities contribute directly to implementing strategies related to mental health policy, research, and service development across the island of Ireland.

Funding Information

• The HRB will provide funding up to a maximum of €1,000,000 (inclusive of overheads) over 60 months for a single collaborative research network.

Costs Covered

• The award will offer network-related costs such as salary for staff to coordinate and support the network (e.g., Network Manager, Communications support, Administrative support), running costs (e.g., training, travel costs, PPI costs, costs to support the participation of people with lived experience), dissemination and outreach costs, and overhead contribution.

Eligible Activities

• Activities eligible for funding include the following:
  • Establishing a register of network members, including researchers, policymakers, service providers, and people with lived experience, ensuring broad stakeholder engagement and transparency in network membership
  • Mapping existing research and activities to identify gaps and opportunities for collaborative, impactful mental health research
  • Identifying and co-producing research questions relevant to the needs of the community, ensuring research is designed in partnership with those it aims to benefit
  • Understanding enablers and barriers to conducting impactful mental health research, with a focus on translating research into policy and practice
  • Systematically sharing research findings, experiences, and lessons learned, ensuring continuous knowledge exchange across disciplines and sectors
  • Addressing capacity building through education, training, and professional development, particularly for early-career researchers, ensuring the next generation of mental health researchers is well-supported
  • Developing or harmonising methods, standards, datasets, and indicators to improve the conduct and evaluation of applied mental health research
  • Mobilising knowledge to inform policy and service delivery transformation, ensuring research findings lead to tangible improvements in mental health care
  • Fostering and enhancing all-island and international collaborations, ensuring Irish mental health research also contributes to global mental health priorities,
  • Systematically identifying and pursuing national and international grant opportunities to ensure the network remains sustainable beyond the initial funding period.

Eligibility Criteria

• Applicant Team
  • Applications should be made on behalf of a team of researchers and knowledge users and including a broad range of co-applicants, collaborators, and contributors, who are members of the public, patients, and people with lived experience. The team will be led by a Lead Applicant, and must encompass the necessary depth in scientific, policy and practice expertise, disciplines, methodologies.
• Leadership Team
  • The network will be managed by a Leadership Team. The leadership team will have two or three members in total (one Lead Applicant and one or two Co-Leads), each of whom will hold equal responsibility for the management of the network. The team members must span a breadth of disciplines and professions with skills and expertise which complement one another to collaboratively lead the direction of the network.
• Lead Applicant
  • Hold a post (permanent or a contract that covers the duration of the award) in a HRB recognised Host Institution in the Republic of Ireland (the “Host Institution”) as an independent investigator. For clinicians, an adjunct position in a HRB recognised Host Institution is acceptable.
  • Be an individual who will be recognised by the Host Institution in the Republic of Ireland upon receipt of an award as an independent investigator who will have a dedicated office and research space for the duration of award, for which they will be fully responsible. The Lead Applicant does not necessarily need to be employed by the Host Institution at the time of the application submission.
• Co-Leads
  • Hold a post (permanent or a contract that covers the duration of the award) in a HRB recognised Host Institution (the “Host Institution”) as an independent investigator. For clinicians, an adjunct position in a HRB recognised Host Institution is acceptable.
  • Be an individual who will be recognised by the Host Institution upon receipt of an award as an independent investigator who will have a dedicated office and research space for the duration of award, for which they will be fully responsible. The Lead Applicant does not necessarily need to be employed by the Host Institution at the time of the application submission.
• Collaborators
  • An official Collaborator is an individual or an organisation who will have an integral and discrete role in the proposed network and is eligible to request funding from the award when properly justified. Named collaborators may include investigators or organisations from outside the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, but an individual or organisation should only be named as Collaborator if they are providing specific contributions (either direct or indirect) to the activities.
• Host Institution
  • A HRB Host Institution is a research-performing organisation that is approved by the HRB for the purpose of receiving and administering HRB grant funding and is responsible for compliance with all general and specific terms and conditions of awards. Having HRB Host Institution status is a requirement to apply under all HRB award schemes. The Host Institution for the award is normally that of the Lead Applicant but it may be another organisation/institution designated by the research team, where it is clearly justified. To be eligible to apply for funding, an institution must be an approved HRB Host Institution at least two calendar months before the closing date of a call.

For more information, visit HRB.