Provision of the Evaluation of the National Challenge Fund for Taighde Éireann Research Ireland.

Research Ireland seeks to appoint a supplier who can conduct an independent evaluation of the impact of the NCF. Tenderers are required to demonstrate an appreciation of the unique position of Research Ireland within the Irish research funding ecosystem. This evaluation is seen as critical to developing challenge funding more generally in the suite of funding programmes offered by Research Ireland.

So, it is expected that the evaluation findings will inform and strengthen strategic planning and decisions on the future delivery of research funding with societal impact in Ireland. Tenderers are required to scope, plan, and deliver an impact evaluation. Bidders should consider a range of methods, including quasi-experimental techniques and theory-based evaluations (e.

g. process tracing, contribution analysis). Consideration should be given to a counterfactual too.

The evaluators should expect to triangulate evidence from monitoring data on each Research Team held by Research Ireland; administrative and survey data as well as with qualitative insights from interviews, case studies, and documentary analysis. Data collection is expected to take place with the Research Ireland Challenge Team; a selection of the funded Challenge Teams, Societal Impact Champions, key stakeholders including policy makers.