TU Dublin Announce Research Scholarship

TU Dublin and Giving Ireland Announce Research Scholarship Programme (PhD) Focusing on Philanthropy In Ireland

Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin) and Giving Ireland today announced the creation of a PhD research programme investigating how nonprofits are impacted by the culture of giving and donating in Ireland. This programme, titled: "Sustaining the Nonprofit Economy: An Investigation into Giving Culture and Infrastructure for Charity and Philanthropy in Ireland", aims to inform nonprofits and government policymakers to aid decision-making.

As Ireland experiences significant societal change and the operational environment of nonprofits grows increasingly complex, the programme combines industry with academia to address several of the nonprofit sector's most pressing issues, namely, how to scale giving to be transformative, moving into a digital society sustainably, and supported by giving, and how to harness policy as a tool to enable giving in a way that bests support a resilient/sustainable social economy and meet the needs of its people.

Its aim is to empower nonprofits to improve decision-making, invest in giving, and fundraising strategies that gain support from key stakeholders, such as (public, colleagues, boards, regulators, politicians, and media), and reduce barriers to scale charitable and philanthropic giving.

A key output from this programme will be the publication of the annual 'Giving Ireland' report that aims to narrow the gap in knowledge on the sector by analysing its composition, funding and benchmarked performance. This report delves into the funding of the sector, looking at State, Earned, Investment and Fundraised income and exploring the implications of these trends. The insights and data published in the Giving Ireland report will further inform the leadership of the nonprofit sector. In the summer of 2022, TU Dublin started the research for Giving Ireland 2022 report; previous Giving Ireland reports were researched and published as part of a collaboration between 2into3 and Philanthropy Ireland. Both 2into3 and Philanthropy Ireland will continue with their support of the Giving Ireland report publication and distribution.

Dr Etain Kidney, Head of School, Marketing and Entrepreneurship at TU Dublin, said, "This collaboration reflects our commitment in TU Dublin to creating a better future together with our partners. We want to solve some of the world's most pressing issues, using research and education to drive social change. Our partnership with 2into3 and Philanthropy Ireland will uncover truths about the unique giving culture here in Ireland and offer insight into how this can be mobilised to benefit those in need".

Dr Lorraine Sweeney, Senior Lecturer, TU Dublin, "We are really excited to commence this important research which will provide much-needed insight into the giving culture in Ireland. We are delighted to work with our partners 2into3 and Philanthropy Ireland and provide this research which will support the nonprofit sector in Ireland, a sector which is vitally important to Irish society."

Dennis O'Connor, 2into3, Chief Executive Officer, said, "We are delighted to collaborate with TU Dublin on this innovative programme, bringing together the nonprofit sector and academia to identify and explore the most pertinent funding issues faced by the nonprofit sector. How to build resilience and growth in the social economy, so it meets the needs of those it was set up to support. What does transformative scale look like, and how can this be achieved? 'I'll be very interested to read the findings the programme will produce."

Éilis Murray, Philanthropy Ireland, Chief Executive Officer, said, "We at Philanthropy Ireland are delighted to be involved in this exciting research initiative, and we look forward to the insights the findings will bring. Philanthropy can be a transformative complementary component of the funding mix, offering the nonprofit sector opportunities for scaling, partnership, and innovation. Data is needed to inform philanthropy for both funders and grantees. This research initiative is an excellent step in supporting philanthropic activity in Ireland."