The NCSR was established in 1999 with funding of €12 million from the Irish Higher Education Authority (PRTLI Cycle 1), most of which was for infrastructural development of buildings and equipment. This provided the space and equipment necessary for hosting large-scale projects, and was a significant factor in the subsequent successes of NCSR researchers in attracting very substantial external funding. To date this funding has exceeded €100 million. This funding has facilitated large scale long term collaborations with both national and International academic institutions and a significant number of industrial partners. The Centre now has over a decade of experience in industrial-academic collaborations where sensor technology plays an important role in societal change. The NCSR is home to five large scale research initiatives: The Biomedical Diagnostic Institute, Clarity Centre for sensor web design, Centre for Bioanalytical Sciences, Irish Separations Science Cluster and National Biophotonics imaging platform-Ireland.

	Intelligent Polymer Research Institute, University of Wollongong, Australia
	Sensors research Laboratory, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, USA
	VTT Electronics, Oulu, Finland
	Cornell University Nanobiotechnology Centre, USA
	Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, USA
	Division of Sensor Science and Molecular Physics Linköping University, Sweden