Research Classification Ireland
From Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science
Published on
Last updated on
Research Classification Ireland (RCI) is Ireland’s first national classification for public investment in research and experimental development (R&D). RCI categorises publicly funded R&D projects according to the Type of Activity (TOA), Field of Research (FOR) and Socio-Economic Objective (SEO). RCI will improve transparency and provide valuable evidence of what publicly funded research is taking place. This will strengthen the connections between Government Departments and the public research system and facilitate accessible research expertise. It will also inform future policy development and impact assessment. RCI will therefore help to achieve the strategic objectives in Impact 2030: Ireland’s Research and Innovation Strategy
RCI is designed to be inclusive of all current sectors of research in Ireland and was developed to ensure consistent categorisation of Exchequer-funded research in Ireland. This will enable reliable comparison of research statistics and data nationally as well as the development of standardised reporting and benchmarking. In addition, RCI is closely aligned with the concepts underlying the Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC 2020) and the Canadian Research and Development Classification (CRDC 2020). RCI also takes account of international standards and best practice in research reporting, as described in the OECD Frascati Manual 2015. This enables comparability of Irish statistics with those derived using ANZSRC, CRDC or OECD Frascati Manual classifications.
R&D projects that receive public funding will be categorised using a set of three related classifications. The three RCI classifications are:
The TOA refers to the type of research. This can be:
The FOR refers to the researcher’s area of investigation. The researcher states the area of the problem or phenomenon they are studying. It also covers:
The FOR has four hierarchical levels:
The Divisions represent a broad subject area or research discipline and the Groups represent a part of that subject area or research discipline. The Classes and Fields can be used to identify more specifically and accurately the precise nature of the R&D.
The SEO refers to the intended outcome of the research. It shows which audience will get the most use out of the research findings. This includes economic, social or technological uses.
The SEO has three hierarchical levels:
Each Division is based on a broad research objective. Groups within each Division are those which are aligned towards the same overarching objective as the Division. Each Group is a collection of related research Objectives. Groups are categorised to the Divisions with which they are most closely aligned.
RCI was developed for the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research and Science by Dr Claire McKenna through the SFI Public Service Fellowship Scheme, in response to Action 7.6 of Innovation 2020 (predecessor to Impact 2030: Ireland’s Research and Innovation Strategy ). Dr McKenna and DFHERIS prepared the following documents:
This report also includes the following comparisons:
Development of Research Classification Ireland
The Development of a National Research Classification System
Research Classification Ireland
Research Classification Ireland
Research Classification Ireland - Fields of Research
Research Classification Ireland - Fields of Research
Research Classification Ireland - Socio-Economic Objective
Research Classification Ireland - Socio-Economic Objective
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) Codes
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) Codes to Research Classification Ireland