Bridging the Gap between Policy and Research Seminar Series

‘Do the Humanities Actually Matter? Public Policy and the Humanities’

The Trinity Long Room Hub is delighted to launch a new seminar series - Bridging the Gap between Policy and Research - exploring how scholarship in the Arts and Humanities can shape and inform public policy for the common good.

The opening seminar, Do the Humanities Actually Matter? Public Policy and the Humanities will hear from Peter MacDonagh, a former senior advisor in the Taoiseach’s Office whose career has bridged government and academia, and includes considerable experience in public policy and research in different countries.  After a short presentation, there will be an ‘in conversation’ piece with the Director of the Trinity Long Room Hub, followed by an opportunity for those present to discuss and explore how best the Humanities can contribute to the development of public policy and what role it can play in the 21st century.

Speaker: A former senior advisor in the Taoiseach’s Office, Peter MacDonagh has had an unusually broad involvement in public policy development, research funding and participation in pan-EU research programmes. Following studies in history in UCD and Cambridge, he worked for the now Taoiseach Micheál Martin when they developed the foundations for funding research in the Humanities. In government, he was substantially involved in deepening the engagement between academic research and public policy. Subsequently he served on the Board of Science Foundation Ireland, now Research Ireland, and as chairperson of its Grants Awards Committee. He has been involved with a range of large-scale Horizon projects and works on public policy and political research in different European countries.

Please indicate if you have any access requirements, such as ISL/English interpreting, so that we can facilitate you in attending this event. Contact: tlrh@tcd.ie