The Royal Irish Academy places a high priority on the informed and independent contributions it makes to policy debates that are significant for the humanities, sciences and social sciences. These contributions seek to promote the interests of these disciplines and inform public policy debates on issues of significance to the higher education, research and innovation environment in Ireland. The Academy is ideally placed to act as a conduit to academic expertise for government and draws upon the expertise of the network of scholars, researchers and practitioners within its membership and Academy Committees to inform its contributions on policy issues.

The Academy is currently working on policy studies and discussion documents in the following areas

• Research Integrity: promoting and building trust: a RIA/HRB/HEA/IUA workshop, Sept. 2009
• Key Performance Indicators in Humanities Research in Ireland
• Third Level Science Education

Other recent policy issues with which the Academy has engaged include:

• Developing the humanities and social sciences higher education research system
• research infrastructure deficits
• academia-industry research collaborations
• development of a national geosciences research programme