About Us

Health Research Charities Ireland (HRCI) is the national umbrella organisation of charities active in health, medical and social care research, together representing over 1 million people in Ireland. Through support and advocacy, we represent their joint interests, to achieve our vision of improved lives through a united community of health research charities

We offer our members the potential for matched research funding through the Joint Funding Scheme, run in partnership with the Health Research Board. We also run the Irish Health Research Forum (IHRF), bringing together all stakeholders to improve health research in Ireland.

Our approx. 40 charities member charities invested more than €15 million in research in 2019 (for context, that is one third of the annual HRB budget) and every extended family in Ireland is connected to at least one of these organisations. Beyond financial investment, they ensure the relevance of research to the communities they represent, communicate its findings and insist that it has impact for people. Together these charities provide a beautiful example of what research means to people and families and how the impact of research reaches every village in Ireland.