Find information on how to make a Protected Disclosure under the external procedures in place in the HEA.
Within the context of wider system performance, the HEA participates in a range of initiatives that target advancements in critical areas of Irish higher education research policy.
Irish Research e-Library Review
The Irish Research e-Library (IReL) is a higher education shared service that delivers access to over 30,000 electronic journals, databases and ebooks to staff and students in participating institutions. IReL is overseen by its Governance Committee comprised of representatives from members and funders. It is currently hosted by Maynooth University, and as its host, has overall governance responsibility.
Since 2004, membership has grown from the initial universities to now including publicly funded TUs, colleges and research institutions. Following a strategic review in 2019, it was concluded that the benefits of IReL as a single entity negotiating with publishers rather than HEIs individually was a major asset for HEIs. In 2020, IReL signed the first of its open access publishing agreements, and now supports over twenty agreements. These agreements allow researchers in IReL member institutions to publish open access work in over 10,000 journals. Through this work, IReL also supports the NORF Action Plan.
Research Integrity Forum
The HEA participates actively in the National Research Integrity Forum which has been established to advance the implementation of the ‘Policy Statement on Ensuring Research Integrity in Ireland’. It is coordinated by the Irish Universities Association (IUA) and the Technological Higher Education Association (THEA). In 2022, the NRIF underwent a reconstruction into two divisions:
- A Steering Group where strategic issues related to Conduct of Research and Research Integrity are discussed among prominent stakeholders.
- A broad Community of Practice (CoP) for sharing information and good practice on training, policies and operational matters between the vast group of stakeholder organisations.
A key output of the NRIF is the Framework to Enhance Research Integrity in Research Collaborations (pdf) which highlights the essential nature of collaboration in research integrity while emphasizing the roles and responsibilities of researchers and the importance of good practice in research.
In 2023 and 2024, the NRIF co-hosted two workshops with the HEA and NORF of which two reports were produced: Advancing a Shared Direction for Research Assessment (pdf) and Reform of Research Assessment: Impact on Doctoral Students (pdf).
All-Island Research Excellence Network (AIREN)
Led by University College Dublin (UCD), Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) and Ulster University, the All-Island Research Excellence Network aims to connect and support research managers and administrators (RMAs), build cross-border collaborations, build upon pre-existing research support professional networks, and address mutual challenges and issues expressed by members.
National Odyssey Programme
The National Odyssey Programme was first implemented in University College Cork to great success. Following support from the Higher Education Authority, the Odyssey Programme is now rolling out a pilot phase of the national programme to the Higher Education Institutions that were invited to participate.
The two-day programme enables doctoral students to recognise the transversal knowledge and skills they gained from their PhD that can be applied to careers outside of academia.