Professor Willie Donnelly:

My concern is that these definitions are really out of date. The rate at which knowledge is created and impacts upon society is such that the discussion about whether something is fundamental, applied or strategically oriented does not add any value to the discussion. The focus has to be on supporting quality research that has some impact on society. Even new knowledge whose application is currently unknown has an impact on society. I refer to the previous question regarding concerns about the arts versus the sciences. If one focuses on research that impacts a country's social, economic and cultural capital, that is a good definition. My background is telecommunications. Before that it was particle physics. Those are the two ends of the spectrum. They had one similarity, which was the creation of new knowledge was the core element in both. Maybe the application was more direct in one than the other. Getting tied up in fundamental versus basic versus applied and allocating funding based on this, that or the other, will not be impactful. We have to look at a holistic approach to research, which benefits society. These are the types of conversations we used to have in Ireland when we had very little money. There were wars about a small budget. One group said they should get it because it was doing basic research, while the other said they should get it because it was going to have an impact. The new agency needs to have a budget that allows the creation of an ecosystem where knowledge is created and shared, and where it drives the quality of life in our society. That is key. The second key point relates to the definitions of excellence. The problem is not really with that definition. It is with the idea of how excellence is defined. If there is a narrow definition, then a narrow set of projects will be funded and its value for Ireland will be limited. Even within the scientific community, the idea that everything is defined in terms of peer-reviewed journals is gone. None of us consider that any more. It is important that this legislation takes time to define what it means by excellence and impact and how we support the broad church for the benefit of society.