Professor Niamh Hardiman:

Most of all, it is about developing a culture. Developing a culture is a challenge. I have some specific thoughts about ways in which these sorts of priorities can be supported. I suggested involving universities and other people who have expertise in particular kinds of policy areas in policy debates. There are innovations inside some Departments at the moment. For example, the Department of the Taoiseach has been organising open seminars on key issues like risk assessment. The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform has been very involved in reaching out and engaging with lots of different areas of expertise as well as building up the Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service. If I can make a small institutional plug, UCD is keen on thinking about ways in which it can develop these kinds of academic practitioner engagements. I recently organised a round table involving people from the public service which was attended by about 20 or 30 people, including people from the Departments of Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform and academics. We had a very good discussion about international trends in public sector reform which is helpful and informative for all concerned. Those kinds of practices can only be a good thing.