From Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science
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Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris has today launched an open consultation to understand how researchers engage with policy makers.
The consultation is intended to:
Submissions are invited from researchers at all stages of their career in higher education institutions, research centres and research performing organisations.
Launching the consultation, Minister Harris said:
“This consultation is in line with a commitment under Impact 2030 to strengthen engagement between government departments and the public research system. The process gives the research community a chance to share best practice and identify areas of improvement.
“The world is becoming ever more unpredictable. A framework whereby researchers and policy practitioners can maximise the impact of State investment in public research will be key to delivering robust policies to meet these challenges into the future.”
Relatedly, the DFHERIS Research Priorities for 2023 - 2024 and Evidence Base for the Tertiary Sector research papers have recently been published, highlighting five priority areas of research for the department and its agencies. This publication is intended to increase transparency around areas of upcoming activity and research interest.
The Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (DFHERIS) plays a key role in supporting capacity building and the evidence base for policy practitioners across the public service.
In 2022, DFHERIS invested almost €491 million in research capability throughout the State, through Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) and Irish Research Council (IRC) funding and through core grants to the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs).
As the key funder of the higher education and research system, under Impact 2030 DFHERIS has commenced work to ensure that policy practitioners and researchers are supported to engage with each other, allowing for greater impact of research activity and insights in supporting policy development across Government.
DFHERIS has established an Evidence for Policy function to deliver a framework to enhance long term linkages between policy practitioners and higher education researchers, and to effectively embed the use of research as an integral part of the evidence base to inform policy development.
2022 saw the establishment of the Civil Service Research Network (CSRN) which brings together research leads from across departments, Irish Government Statistical Service (IGSS) and the Irish Government Economic Evaluation Service (IGEES) to improve connectivity between researchers and all government departments. A Higher Education (HE) Research for Policy group was also established to bring together the ongoing activity across the HE research sector.
In March of this year, the government approved the appointment of a Government Science Advisor who will sit in DFHERIS and provide a service to Government, strengthening links between both immediate information needs and longer term science forecasting. The Government Science Advisor, once appointed, will Chair a twelve member National Science Advice Forum.