Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 21 October 2021
259. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the total expenditure on the Transformation Fund for technological universities for 2020, provisional expenditure for 2021 and the allocated expenditure for 2022, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51849/21]
View answerThe TU Transformation Fund (TUTF) is a €90 million fund (over 3 years), announced by government in Budget 2020, to assist the development and progression of TUs. The Fund was introduced in response to a recommendation in the report of the TU Research Network (TURN), Connectedness and Collaboration enabled by Connectivity (2019), which highlighted the importance of Exchequer investment to realising the ambitions of the TU agenda. The Higher Education Authority (HEA) are responsible for the design and implementation of the fund.
On 8 September 2021, the HEA announced funding of €25.67m to higher education institutions to support them in their progression towards Technological University status and in post-establishment development.
This funding builds on the €34.33m awarded in 2020 and represents the second tranche from the TUTF. A total of €90m will be awarded over a 3-year period to assist the development and progression of technological universities.
It is anticipated that the creation of technological universities will significantly enhance progress towards national priorities, particularly in the areas of access to higher education, research-informed teaching and learning, supporting enterprise and enhancing regional development.
In addition to the allocations, the HEA supports the ongoing work of both DkIT and IADT as they pursue separate journeys toward TU status. DkIT has made significant progress on its three-year developmental pathway with the support of a special advisor appointed by the HEA, and IADT continues to advance exploration of its options under the TU Act, 2018. Funding to support further progress by both institutes will be provided in 2022.
The HEA meets regularly with the fund recipients and consults at a sectoral level via the TU Research Network (TURN), to oversee the use of the fund and to best serve the needs of each institution or consortia at its current stage in the TU trajectory.
Considerable progress has been made towards the objectives of the fund since initial disbursements were made in 2020, as evidenced by the robust monitoring systems put in place to track progress. The latest round of funding allocations was determined on the basis of assessed capacity and progress evidenced in meeting the objectives and ambitions outlined in the TURN Report.
There is €30m of available funding to support projects in Year 3 of the TUTF. This funding will be allocated by the HEA on the basis of the analysis of updated year 3 project plans and an assessment of progress to date.
A breakdown of year 1 and 2 allocations for the TUTF is attached for your information.
