Dr. Deirdre Lillis:

That is probably the issue creating the most debate, which is great because we are getting many different perspectives. The issues are where the board sits within the overall design of the agency and where the board is getting the information it is using to take its decisions. Striking that balance is very important. I know we have the example of the IRC, which had a strong focus as a research council. However, it sat within the corporate governance structure of the HEA so much of that piece was done for it, if Professor Carey does not mind me saying so. We have to look holistically at the make-up of the board, the competences we need and consider a council structure within it. We need to get a balance between national and international, corporate governance and research expertise. That will be a feature of the next phase.

We will be doing a structured public consultation as well to get the views of people. It is really about the overall mix and how the information feeds in.