Ministers Harris publishes Ireland's first research classification system to drive better understanding of research in the sector
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From: Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science
- Published on: 18 July 2023
- Last updated on: 25 August 2023
Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris has published Ireland’s first national research classification system designed to improve how Ireland can make the most of the valuable work being carried out across the sector.
Research Classification Ireland is a standard national research classification system which will deliver transparency across the Irish research ecosystem, improve accessibility, drive collaboration, and provide valuable evidence of what publicly-funded research is being carried out.
It will also help strengthen ties between government departments and the public research system and play a greater role in policy formation.
Speaking today, Minister Harris said:
“The past few years have reminded us of the important role that science and research can play in creating a better, safer and more informed society.
“Having a standardised classification system to allow us monitor and access public investment in research is the perfect next step towards us making the most of all the research sector has to offer, particularly through policy formation.
“I am often asked, ‘How much is Ireland spending on AI research, or green technology research?’ Once RCI is implemented, it will be easier to address these questions and make sure that we are getting the balance right.
“RCI will facilitate transparency across the Irish research ecosystem, and it will build a deeper understanding of what types of research are taking place, and being publicly supported, across the country.”
Research projects that receive public funding will be categorised using a set of three related classifications: Type of Activity (TOA); Fields of Research (FOR); and Socio-Economic Objective (SEO).
The implementation of RCI will improve insights into the impact of public investment in research, aid the development of future research funding policy and support the administrative management of research.
As such, RCI will contribute to improving accountability and transparency in reporting of publicly funded research in Ireland. That is why DFHERIS requires RCI to be used for the:
- R&D Budget Survey (an annual survey that presents the data on the government R&D Budget and on Ireland's R&D expenditure across all sectors); and
- Higher Education R&D Survey (a biennial survey of expenditure and human resources devoted to research activity in the Irish higher education sector)
Both of these surveys result in statistics that are communicated to the Central Statistics Office, Eurostat and OECD for international publication and benchmarking, which underlines the importance of accurate reporting.
Notes
Example of RCI
A project to identify risk factors for cancer would be classified as follows.
Type of Activity (TOR)
Basic research
Although cancer research attracts the most attention when it results in new and better treatments, these breakthroughs would not be possible without basic research. Basic research is about coming up with new ideas and then testing them. Sometimes the answers are surprising and unexpected, but they all help us to understand cancer better. This lays the foundations for improved treatments.
Field of Research (FOR)
| Level | Code | Title |
| **Division | RCF30 | Medical, health and life sciences |
| Group | RCF301 | Basic Medicine and Life Sciences |
| Class | RCF30102 | Cancer |
| Field | RCF3010209 | Predictive and prognostic markers |
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)
| Level | Code | Title |
| Division | RCS20 | Health |
| Group | RCS2001 | Clinical Health |
| Objective | RCS200101 or RCS200104 | Diagnosis of human diseases and conditions OR, depending on the focus of the study, Prevention of human diseases and conditions |
Background
Action 7.6 of Innovation 2020, predecessor to Impact 2030: Ireland’s Research and Innovation Strategy, identified the need for a national standard research classification to improve transparency and provide valuable evidence of what publicly funded research is taking place. This will strengthen the connections between government departments and the public research system and facilitate accessible research expertise.
Dr Claire McKenna, through the SFI Public Service Fellowship Scheme (2019), developed RCI over the period October 2020 to September 2022.
This involved extensive consultation with the main national research funders and research performing organisations in Ireland and with experts in specific fields across all academic domains. This included over 60 meetings with stakeholders and an open public consultation in February/March 2022. This consultative approach was designed to ensure consensus and to enable widespread future adoption of RCI.
RCI is designed to be inclusive of all current sectors of research in Ireland and was developed to ensure consistent categorisation of Exchequer-funded research in Ireland. This will enable reliable comparison of research statistics and data nationally as well as the development of standardised reporting and benchmarking. In addition, RCI is closely aligned with the concepts underlying the Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC 2020) and the Canadian Research and Development Classification (CRDC 2020). RCI also takes account of international standards and best practice in research reporting, as described in the OECD Frascati Manual 2015. This enables comparability of Irish statistics with those derived using ANZSRC, CRDC or OECD Frascati Manual classifications.
Although RCI is official once published by DFHERIS, the dates of its implementation depend entirely on the entities, organisations or individuals that decide to use it. However, DFHERIS requires RCI to be used for the annual R&D Budget Survey (which presents the data on the government R&D Budget and on Ireland’s R&D expenditure across all sectors) and the biennial Higher Education R&D Survey (which captures expenditure and human resources devoted to research activity in the Irish higher education sector). Both of these surveys result in statistics that are communicated to the Central Statistics Office, Eurostat and OECD for international publication and benchmarking, which underlines the importance of accurate reporting.