In the pecking order of third-level research in Ireland, you could say that TCD is pretty much at the top of the tree. With an annual research income of £15 million and books and articles being published at a rate of almost 2,000 each year, Trinity's research record is impressive. But according to the college, there's no room for complacency, and a major shake up is on the way.
College research is about to be completely reorganised and regular departmental reviews are on the cards. Last year, TCD was awarded some £750,000 under the HEA programme for research in science and technology, and TCD-registered postgraduate students won half of the Government of Ireland Scholarships in the Humanities and Social Sciences. Change, however, was deemed necessary. "The environment is changing fairly rapidly and it's becoming increasingly competitive," explains Professor John Hegarty, TCD's dean of research. "Trinity's aim is to be an international player in research. We have very good people and a strong research culture here, but if you want to compete in research you need to be supporting it in the right way."
Until a working party on research was set up by TCD's board in December 1997, research in Trinity had developed along ad-hoc lines. "There were lots of committees which were reactive rather than proactive, but there were very few mechanisms by which we could discuss research and the issues involved," he says. "There was no planning and no strategic view. No decisions had been made about our priorities and what we should be doing." The TCD working party produced its report in May of last year. "It was quite critical," Hegarty says, "but it came up with a series of recommendations." Included among them was the establishment of an interim research committee.
Last month, this committee presented its research implementation plan to the Trinity council and board. This plan has now been adopted as college policy, according to Hegarty. It is, the dean says, TCD's first research policy statement. Trinity's ideal, he notes, is the teacher-scholar, rather than an academic who opts for either teaching or research. "The interplay between these areas is very important - research impacts on teaching in a very direct way."
A major strength of the college is, he says, its sense of collegiality. "There is a strong feeling here that people are part of a broader endeavour. They take an interdisciplinary view which should be fostered as the basis of interdisciplinary research." While in research terms, areas of great strength are vital, "we need a range of individual efforts in research and scholarship," Hegarty stresses. "It's out of these that future strengths will come." There are great strengths in all the faculties and many internationally recognised academics, "but our potential is a lot greater," he argues. Under the new plan, TCD is to establish a research committee which will report to the council and board, advise on research matters, monitor progress in research and develop mechanisms to allocate funds. Every member of staff is to be asked to develop research plans for the next five years and set out the criteria by which their research should be judged.
Each department will then develop its own research plan, which will incorporate staff plans and allow "quality time for researchers". This information will enable the college to develop an overall plan. "Every five years, every aspect of each department will be reviewed including teaching and research, by two external reviewers." Staff will be required to report annually on their progress and build up portfolios for the reviewers.
"It represents a culture change but it's a non-invasive and reasonable way to go. A system is not being imposed from the outside and no one will be telling people what they should be doing." Initiatives costing almost £3 million annually are recommended. According to the plan, a start-up package of up to £30,000 will be offered to new staff members to enable them to embark on research immediately. New chair holders, the plan suggests, should receive up to £100,000 to cover start-up costs.
Individual departments are to have greater control over research spending via a fund established by the research committee and allocated on an annual basis to each department. In addition, a special projects' fund is to be set up to finance larger research initiatives. A new research institute - the Berkeley Research Institute - is to be established. This will attract up to "20 outstanding researchers" who will be relieved of their teaching duties for a year to concentrate on research. At postgraduate level, the college intends to create 30 new research "studentships" worth £7,500 per student per annum. These studentships will be open to non-Trinity graduates and represent a bid to attract world-class "high flyers".
