Assess whether Investigator-programme awardees improve median bibliometric performance

Determine whether the median awardee in Research Ireland’s Investigators programme exhibits a reduced gap in top-10%-paper performance relative to typical European Research Council Starting and Consolidator grant awardees.

Background

Research Ireland’s Investigators programme is described as a successor to the Frontiers for the Future programme, with greater emphasis on research excellence and enabling researchers to undertake frontier research. The paper notes that the programme’s first cohort of awardees could be evaluated using the top-10%-paper indicator developed in the study.

The authors expect that expert peer review and the programme’s focus on research excellence might narrow the approximately 10% performance gap observed between typical Research Ireland Frontiers for the Future awardees and typical ERC Starting or Consolidator awardees. However, whether this expectation is reflected in the median awardee remains unresolved and is identified as an empirical question testable once outcomes or awardee track records become available.