Developing evidence for policy and practice in the Department of Education and Youth

This paper outlines the strategic approach being adopted by the Department of Education and Youth to deliver on its ambition to increase the role of research, evidence and data in shaping positive and effective educational experiences for all children and young people. The paper will describe key strategic actions which the department has been pursuing, in line with its Statement of Strategy, namely establishing a Research Section to drive and coordinate the department’s research activities; secondly, establishing an annual Education Research Summit built around Fíorú – a futures-oriented research network – to build linkages between the policy, research and practice communities; and lastly, building the administrative and collaborative infrastructure to deliver on the department’s research goals. The paper concludes by setting out a number of avenues through which the department can continue to support research, which is particularly relevant in the context of the upcoming National Convention on Education and the department’s planned education strategy ‘Our Schools, Our Future’.