Deadline: 26-May-23
Do you have an idea for a solution that could help Ireland become an environmentally sustainable economy? The Future Food Systems Challenge seeks solutions for sustainable, productive and resilient food systems.
The National Challenge Fund is an agile, fast-paced programme that allows research teams to work with societal stakeholders to deliver tangible impact through their research. In addition to funding, teams are provided with training and mentoring to support acceleration of an idea and to demonstrate how it can solve real-world problems. Participation has the potential to open up significant career development and collaborative opportunities.
Greenhouse gases from the agricultural sector represent the largest contribution to Ireland’s Emissions Inventory, but there remain significant challenges in achieving reductions while maintaining productivity. There are opportunities for innovation across the food value chain, from production to consumption to ensure a sustainable food system for all.
Areas of Interest
- Methane emissions – solutions to measure, manage and reduce methane emissions from the agriculture sector.
- Sustainable and regenerative agriculture – Solutions that will enable the transformation to a low-input, low-impact agrifood sector, for example, through reduced/alternative fertiliser use, water efficiency, or fewer fossil-based or chemical inputs.
- Alternative proteins – Solutions to provide lower impact sources of protein across the food value chain for animals and humans
- Food waste/loss – Solutions to reduce food loss and waste across the full breadth of the food supply chain
- Bioeconomy – Solutions to transform and reuse biological resources into value-added products, such as food, feed, bio-based products as well as bioenergy
- Soil – Solutions to preserve and restore healthy soils as an essential component of the climate transition and a sustainable agricultural sector.
Benefits
- The Future Food Systems Challenge consists of four phases: Concept, Seed, Grow and Prize Award. Participation in the challenge will involve teams progressing through the phases, each supporting further development of the challenge concept and solution, to compete for an overall prize award of €2 million.
- Phase: Concept
- No. of Teams: 12
- Duration: 6 months
- Funding: € 50,000
- Phase: Seed
- No. of Teams: 12
- Duration: 12 months
- Funding: € 200,000
- Phase: Grow
- No. of Teams: 5
- Duration: 12 months
- Funding: € 500,000
- Phase: Prize Award
- No. of Teams: 1
- Duration: 24 months
- Funding: € 2,000,000
- Phase: Concept
What Are They Looking For?
- Restoring and maintaining a resilient food system is a fundamental component of the Green Transition and essential for the creation of a healthy and secure future. The Future Food Systems Challenge seeks solutions for sustainable, productive and resilient food systems.
- Examples of potential research areas that could deliver impactful solutions are in the areas of measuring and mitigating the environmental impact of food production, new ideas for avoiding waste from food production or waste of food products, soil management, and innovative food sources, amongst others.
Eligibility Criteria
- Applications are welcome from teams of academic researchers based at eligible Irish research bodies. Teams are strongly encouraged to consider including researchers from different and diverse disciplines, at all career stages.
- Applications should be submitted by two academic researchers who will act as team lead and co-lead. It is strongly recommended that applications also identify a Societal Impact Champion to act in a non-technical leadership role. Where a Societal Impact Champion is not identified at the time of application, teams successful in their applications will be expected to have the Societal Impact Champion in place soon after their award commences.
For more information, visit Science Foundation Ireland.
