Building research capacity in the social sciences – alternatives approaches

Abstract

In contrast to previous decades, the past decade has seen major investments by the Irish government in the national research capacity. As part of this investment, there has been a significant investment in the social sciences with the creation of major institutes in the universities and the rapid expansion of numbers of students supported in PhD programmes. This paper reviews the recent developments and contrasts them with the only other significant investment in the social sciences research made over the past half century, namely, through the creation of the Economic and Social Research Institute [ESRI]. Drawing on the different experiences, the paper suggests key issues that should be addressed in reviewing the development of these recent investments and on what might be appropriate future strategies.