AN TUDARAS UM ARD OIDEACHAS

Their core work

The Higher Education Authority (HEA) is Ireland's statutory body responsible for governance, funding, and strategic development of the higher education sector. In H2020, HEA acts primarily as a national research funding agency that co-finances transnational research programmes through ERA-NET Cofund mechanisms and coordinates Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellowship schemes. Their role is to pool national research funding with European partners, launch joint transnational calls, and support researcher mobility — essentially serving as the Irish bridge between national research budgets and pan-European collaborative programmes.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their early H2020 period (2015-2017), HEA focused on humanities, social sciences, and sustainability — co-funding research on inequality, life-course dynamics, global sustainability, and public spaces through HERA and NORFACE ERA-NETs. From 2017 onward, their portfolio shifted toward science and technology policy themes: FET/ICT strategic planning via CHIST-ERA, open science, gender mainstreaming in research, and most recently interdisciplinary public health through DOROTHY. This evolution reflects a broadening from traditional social science funding toward cross-cutting research policy challenges like digital transformation and health crisis preparedness.

HEA is moving toward interdisciplinary health research and science policy coordination, making them a strong partner for projects needing a national funding agency with health and open science experience.

How they like to work

HEA primarily joins consortia as a participant (8 of 10 projects), which is typical for national funding agencies in ERA-NET schemes — they contribute national co-funding rather than leading the research. When they do coordinate, they run large fellowship programmes (CAROLINE, DOROTHY) with significant budgets. With 52 unique partners across 33 countries, they operate as a network hub connecting to a wide range of European funding agencies and research councils rather than repeatedly partnering with the same organizations.

HEA has collaborated with 52 distinct partners across 33 countries, reflecting the broad, pan-European nature of ERA-NET Cofund schemes where national funding agencies from across Europe pool resources. Their network spans virtually all EU and associated countries rather than clustering in any single region.

What sets them apart

HEA is not a research performer — it is Ireland's national higher education funding authority, which gives it a unique role in H2020 consortia. For ERA-NET proposals, HEA brings the ability to commit Irish national research funding to joint transnational calls, opening the door for Irish researchers to participate. For fellowship programmes, they offer structured access to Ireland's higher education institutions as host environments, making them a valuable partner for any consortium that needs an Irish national funding anchor.

Highlights from their portfolio

• CAROLINE
  Largest project at €4.6M — an MSCA-COFUND fellowship programme coordinated by HEA, supporting collaborative research fellows working with NGOs and international organisations on global challenges.
• DOROTHY
  Most recent coordination (2021-2026, €2.7M), representing HEA's strategic pivot toward interdisciplinary public health crisis research and health communication.
• CHIST-ERA IV
  Long-running ERA-NET (2019-2026) shaping the strategic research agenda for Future and Emerging Technologies across Europe, positioning HEA in ICT research policy.