SDG Challenge Funding to develop Sustainable Solutions

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a call to action for all countries, in partnership, to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. They address the global challenges ones face, including poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace and justice.

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 objectives of the SDG Challenge are:
  • To generate impact through advancement of sustainable solutions in addressing global sustainability issues and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs);
  • To support the mobilisation of transdisciplinary teams, comprising academic researchers and societal stakeholders to identify key development challenges where sustainable solutions 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 development, deployment and demonstration of sustainable solutions across a range of application areas.

Themes

• The SDG Challenge 2024 seeks solutions that will contribute to achieving the targets and indicators set out in SDG 2: Zero Hunger: “End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture”. Applications will be considered that contribute towards one or more of the five SDG 2 outcome targets10,11; improving access to food, ending all forms of malnutrition, enhancing agricultural productivity, sustainable food production and resilient agricultural practices, and maintaining genetic diversity of food production. Recognising the opportunities for innovation within this challenge theme, applicants are encouraged to consider where innovations could be impactful in areas including, but not limited to;
  • Advancing sustainable, resilient, equitable and healthy food systems;
  • Strengthening the use of technology (including digital) and data in food systems transformations, with particular consideration of gender-responsive interventions;
  • Encouraging nutrition-sensitive agriculture interventions that advance nutritionally rich foods and dietary diversity, and that recognise the importance of genetic diversity in food production;
  • Fostering climate resilient and nature-positive production systems;
  • Harnessing the role of blue foods for sustainable, resilient, equitable and healthy food systems.
• In line with the SFI Future Innovator Prize framework, solutions must be underpinned by a credible and robust pathway to impact, built on primary evidence gathered through direct engagement with stakeholders. Solutions must demonstrate context-specific expected impact in one of Irish Aid’s partner countries, but applicants are also encouraged to consider broader opportunities where solutions may have wider impact and may foster learning for regional and sub-regional use.

Challenge Funding and the SFI Future Innovator Prize

• Challenge funding is a solution-focused approach to direct research activities at specific, often complex, problems. SFI’s approach to challenge funding places strong emphasis on:
  • Inter and Transdisciplinary Teams, reflecting the need to bring together experts and innovators from different disciplines to address complex challenges;
  • Engagement & Validation with stakeholders, beneficiaries and end-users of research to understand the nature of specific problems, to test assumptions and to co-create solutions; and
  • Acceleration through efficient adaptation of approaches based on iterative engagement with beneficiaries and stakeholders.
• The SDG Challenge will be run within the challenge-funding framework of the SFI Future Innovator Prize Programme, which is structured around the principles set out above.

Funding Information

• There are three phases to the programme: Concept, Seed and Prize Award.
• Applications to the programme can request up to €300,000 in total direct costs over a duration of 18- months.
• Up to €50,000 can be allocated for use during the Concept Phase of the programme (Months 1 – 6) while the remaining request of up to €250,000 can be allocated to the Seed Phase (Months 7 – 18).
• It is expected that approximately 5 teams will be funded through the programme and enter the Concept Phase. To reflect the collaborative nature of the research to be undertaken and the joint leadership of teams funded under this programme, applications must include funding allocations for researchers based in eligible institutions in both Ireland and in the partner country.
• At the conclusion of the Concept Phase, all teams that are deemed competitive and whose project demonstrates high impact potential may progress to the Seed Phase as finalists. Following the Seed Phase, one or more teams may be provided with follow-on funding from the prize fund of up to €1M.

Who can apply?

• 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 relevant knowledge or experience in complementary areas such as, for example, international development, economics, behavioural science or others, in order to inform the development, translation (incl. adoption) and impact of solutions. As part of an application, two academic researchers (at least one from a relevant STEM discipline) must be identified as part of the core-team.  Funding should be allocated appropriately to reflect the various contributions to the team.
• 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 maximising the societal impact of the solution. The Societal Impact Champion may come from, for example: public sector/government, non-governmental organisations, 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.
• Following successful application, selected core teams will have the opportunity to build a broader challenge team. In addition, funded teams will be assigned a liaison in Irish Aid or one of their overseas missions to further inform the development and deployment of their solution, facilitate access to stakeholder networks and to provide relevant policy context.

Eligibility Criteria

• For the SDG Challenge, applications must satisfy the following eligibility criteria.
  • The Ireland-based Team Lead/Co-Lead must:
    • Be a member of academic staff of an eligible Research Body (permanent or with a contract that covers the period of the award), or
    • Be a contract researcher with a contract that covers the period of the award (contract may be subject to receipt of the award). and
    • Hold a PhD or equivalent. Please consult the SFI Policy on PhD Equivalence6 for further information.
  • The Partner Country Team Co-Lead must:
    • Be employed at a HEI or RPO in one of the partner countries eligible under this call. The HEI/RPO in the partner country must be a publicly funded or not-for-profit institution. The RPO must have the capacity and infrastructure to support the research, should be research active and be able to demonstrate the standard of academic rigour required for a significant research project.
    • Be a member of academic staff or a contract researcher at an eligible HEI/RPO with a contract that covers the period of the award.
    • Hold a PhD or equivalent.

For more information, visit SFI.