Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service (IGEES)

The Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service (IGEES) is an integrated cross-Government service to enhance the role of economics and value for money analysis in public policy making.

Established in 2012, the Service demonstrates the strong commitment of the Government to a high and consistent standard of policy evaluation and economic analysis throughout the Irish Civil Service.

In that regard, IGEES has an important role to play in the reform and strengthening of the Civil Service.

It supports the Government in progressing major cross-cutting policy challenges such as:

• Economic growth

• Social exclusion

• Enhance service delivery

• Better policy design

The IGEES network consists of over 200 civil servant analysts working across the entire Civil Service. To date, over 300 papers have been published by IGEES staff.

Some of the themes explored in these papers include:

• Impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic
• Brexit
• Social housing
• Labour market
• Education
• Capital investment
• Healthcare
• Taxation
• Crime

The Spending Review 2020 – 2022 aims to maintain the momentum that has been developed since 2017 in subjecting programmes / policy areas to critical assessment on a rolling basis.

The Spending Review

IGEES publishes analytical papers across a range of public policy and expenditure topics.

These papers can be found below.

IGEES Publications

The publications have been prepared by members of IGEES and do not necessarily represent the policy positions of the relevant Department, Minister or the Government.

• Departmental Papers
• Spending Reviews
• Social Impact Assessments
• Evaluations
• Budget Papers
• Value for Money Reviews
• Focused Policy Reviews

Policy Analyst/Economist - Assistant Principal

The role of Policy Analyst/ Economist in the Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service is an important one and the work will be varied and challenging.

Under the general direction of the Head of Unit in the employing Government Department, and by reference to the Work Programme of the Unit, the Policy Analyst/ Economist will be expected to take responsibility for specific work areas and manage a small team.

The person(s) appointed will be capable of drawing on experience and expertise in analysis to inform evidence based policy and decision making.

The ideal candidate will be a self-starter, capable of continuous learning, with a strong interest in the wider economic, political and social environment. This competition based on anticipated demand for officials and is run by the Public Appointments Service.

There are IGEES Policy Analyst/ Economist roles in every Government Department.

The work varies depending on the requirements of the role and the Department, but typically covers one or more of the following:

• contributing to national policy development across a wide range of areas

• managing a work programme of policy analysis and evaluation of public policy initiatives

• managing and developing graduate policy analyst/economist staff

• briefing and advising senior officials and Ministers

• using data and economic tools and techniques to conduct policy analysis and evaluation

• contributing to appraisals and evaluations of significant areas of expenditure in line with the Public *Spending Code

• providing economic advice and guidance to ensure effective regulation and to support Government

• contributing to relevant internal and external conferences and events.

Details of the Assistant principle competencies can be found on publicjobs.ie

Economist and Policy Analyst Graduate - Administrative officer

IGEES hire graduates capable of demonstrating the tools and techniques of economic and policy analysis. These skillsets will be used to help inform policy development and decision making around optimising the use of scarce Government resources throughout Ireland. Generally this competition takes place once a year in October and is run by the Public Appointments Service.

IGEES roles exist across a number of Government Departments and are typically involved in a variety of responsibilities including:

• contributing to national policy development

• using data, quantitative and qualitative tools and techniques to conduct policy analysis and evaluation

• contributing to appraisals and evaluations of significant areas of expenditure in line with the Public Spending Code

• economic modelling and forecasting

• contributing to briefing and advising senior officials and Ministers

• providing technical advice and guidance to ensure effective regulation

Details of the Administrative Officer competencies can be found on publicjobs.ie.

IGEES generally recruit graduates starting in October and the competition will be advertised on publicjobs.ie.

IGEES Internship Programme

The IGEES Internship Programme has been in operation since 2018 and allows students from both Undergraduate and Masters level programmes to work alongside IGEES staff on various projects. While each of these projects is unique to the Government Department they originate in, they do all have similar characteristics and offer students similar opportunities to grow.

These include:

project work involving data analysis and research

the completion of tasks arising from the daily work of the Civil Service

on the job training and development opportunities

In 2022 students will have the opportunity to work in one of 10 different government departments. Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Health, Department of Justice, Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, Department of Rural and Community Development, Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sports and Media, and the Department of Transport

Applications for the internship programme are via Universities and Students should contact their programme co-ordinators for details.

The Young Economist of the Year (YEOTY) awards started in 2013 and aims to promote the subject of economics at second level through the development of a significant national award.

The award also hopes to highlight the fact that the study of economics provides significant opportunities for further study and career options.

IGEES have been involved in YEOTY since 2019 and the IGEES category seeks to encourage secondary school students to engage in projects which deal with topical policy issues (example: housing, health and so on) and promote policy analysis to students, to ensure a pipeline into IGEES.

It’s also an opportunity to build diversity and equality by interesting a wide cohort in policy analysis at second level.

To help students better understand the role of IGEES, IGEES is available to talk to secondary schools, about how evidence is used in developing public policy and career opportunities for economists and evaluators in IGEES and the civil service.

If you are interested in a free career talk for your secondary school, please contact igees@per.gov.ie

One in five people in Ireland identify as having a disability, and the government’s policies on disability affect a large number of people on a daily basis. Disability policy is a priority for the government and a new disability strategy is currently being developed, led by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.

Better Public Services – the Public Service Transformation Strategy up to 2030 - outlines that the public service will collaborate on cross-cutting projects to deliver effective human-centred policies and services. These policies and services will be designed for and with the people they most impact along with evidence and insights from our data and research. As part of this commitment, the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform has a role in stimulating discussion and creating opportunities for different stakeholders to engage with policy areas. Discussions about shared challenges and promotion of innovative policy techniques will help to drive policy solutions ultimately leading to improved, inclusive and fit for purpose person-centred public services.

In 2024, the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform brought together different groups involved in the area of disability policy for a series of Symposia on Disability Policy. Across three events a variety of people gathered together to share knowledge, research and experience and to discuss common challenges. These discussions will be used to feed into future policies and services and make them more effective.