Project Spotlight: Science Policy Research Programme

This project is led by Peter Mc Namara, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at Maynooth University.

The project investigates how effectively Irish academic research informs policymaking and addresses the gap between research outputs and their use in policy. The first phase of the project measures how often Irish research is cited in policy documents, comparing trends across disciplines and with Finland and Israel. This helps assess the visibility and influence of Irish research both nationally and internationally

The second and third phases explore researchers’ engagement with policymakers and whether widely cited research contributes to impactful policies. Through surveys, content analysis, and expert panels, the project examines support structures, researcher perceptions, and the alignment between research use and societal outcomes. The findings will guide evidence-based policymaking and help understand which types of research are most likely to result in impactful policies.

This project is led by Audreu Morley, a lecturer in Geography at University of Galway and President of the Network of Arctic Researchers in Ireland (NARI).

Arctic research combines globally important topics such as climate change, sustainability, human rights, and ocean health from a cross-disciplinary perspective. The project aims to provide a blueprint for research networks to improve their operations and to link research to government policy objectives through interviews and the creation of a Logic Model.

In addition, the project aims to understand whether knowledge co-production enables better knowledge transfer across the science-policy and research networks, using NARI and other Arctic networks as case studies. Local and international workshops with specialist knowledge holders will be  held to consider the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats concerning the use of knowledge coproduction as the primary communication strategy for research networks.

This project is led by Mark Boyle, professor at Maynooth University Social Sciences Institute (MUSSI) and serves as the chair of geography.

The Irish government is committed to unlocking the full value of evidence, research, and expertise for public policymaking and innovation. However, to enable this, we must first understand the current landscape (i.e., who is involved, what structures exist, and how they function). This project aims to  assess the knowledge sharing structures and supports across higher education institutions, public service research systems, and civil society organisations.

The main outputs from this research will include a profile of the national research for policy ecosystem and an inventory of the knowledge sharing arrangements that are in place to strengthen the research policy landscape. A high-level conference will be organised aimed at promoting project awareness, dissemination and critical engagement, while also presenting the project in the context of wider national and European ambition for evidence informed policymaking. 

This project is led by Brendan Dolan, a transdisciplinary postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Lifecourse and Society at University of Galway.

The Engaged Research for Policy Impact (ERPI) study explores how academic researchers can help civil servants and politicians ensure policies are developed based on the best available evidence from research. In particular, this study looks at challenges faced by individual researchers in Ireland and how they overcome these to engage with policymakers. It will identify bridges, strategies and supports that researchers can use  to more effectively communicate and engage with those who make policy decisions.

The research will include a national survey of academic researchers, interviews with individual scientists and engaged research leaders on the specific challenges and approaches they have when engaging with policymakers. and meetings with a cross section of policy audiences on their perspectives of engaging with academics. From the findings, recommendations will be developed  on how to better  support the current and next generation of scientists and policymakers to engage more effectively and more frequently. The findings will also recommend what supports may be needed to help bridge the divide between research and policy.

This project is led by Ingrid Holme, a lecturer in medical sociology in the University of Galway.

For Ireland to achieve the aspiration of becoming a Global Innovation Leader by 2040, it will not be  enough to provide increased investment in technical training to recruit, grow and retain scientific research talent through the talent pipeline; the broader context of Postdoctoral staff’s lives, including their social and cultural wellbeing, must also be considered. This project will speak with over ten experts and 90 postdocs in Biotechnology, Digital Technology and Energy Engineering in Ireland, Denmark and Singapore to understand how they experience the talent pipeline, its constraints and blockages.

Through detailed assessments, this research will highlight how gender, race, nationality, and working conditions influence access and advancement in research careers. Ultimately, the project will produce clear recommendations for institutions and supervisors to improve equity and sustainability in the research system.

This project is led by Junwen Luo, a senior postdoctoral researcher at the economics department in University College Cork.

Funders use impact assessments to demonstrate that public funding spent on research has value for money and positively impacts research communities and wider economy and society. However, it is challenging to capture impact potentials and impact achievements beyond project lifecycles due to the uncertain development path of research and the constraints of evaluation.

This study explores the impact trajectories of Irish Career Development Award over a ten-year timeframe by looking at awardees’ impact statements from: 1) grant proposals; 2) project final reports; 3) interviews 3-4 years after the projects ended. A comparative analysis of the impacts stated at the three different timings will help us to better understand to what degree scientists attain and further develop their intended impact. It will also show how the current impact assessment framework can be improved to better capture and trace impact, particularly for programmes supporting researcher career development in Ireland.