IGEES Work Programme 2020

&

Achievements in 2019

IGEES Corporate Support and Development 2020

Table of ContentsIntroduction3Highlights of the 2020 IGEES Work Programme4Snapshot of Achievements in 20195IGEES Work Programmes7By Department7Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine8Department of Business, Enterprise & Innovation11Department of Children and Youth Affairs (DCYA)13Department of Climate Action, Communications & Environment16Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht18Department of Defence20Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection23Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government26Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade28Department of Justice & Equality30Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER)32Department of the Taoiseach36Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport38Central Statistics Office41Office of the Revenue Commissioners48

Introduction

IGEES is an integrated, cross - Government service that aims to support better policy formulation and implementation in the civil service through economic analysis and evaluation. The aim of IGEES is to contribute to the better design and targeting of Government policy and better outcomes for citizens. It does this by building on existing analytical work and playing a lead role in policy analysis.

The IGEES Medium Term Strategy 2016-2019, focusing on branded output, dissemination, and capacity building through recruitment, mobility and training set the context for the 2019 work programme. The context which set the 2020 work programme is the IGEES Medium Term Strategy 2020-2022 which builds on this and by creating a bridge between analysis and the policy making process . This work programme, which has been agreed by the IGEES Internal Advisory Group, sets out the work that will be undertaken by individual IGEES Units across Government Departments and Offices in 2020 in keeping with their policy remit and Departmental Statement of Strategies. It also reports on the achievements of IGEES Units in 2019.

The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform has overall policy responsibility for IGEES; reporting on cross departmental issues including resourcing, capacity building and continuing professional development under that section of the work programme.

Published papers and output of IGEES staff working in Government Departments can be found at http://igees.gov.ie/

Queries on IGEES should be address to igees@per.gov.ie

Spending Review Conference 2019

Highlights of the 2020 IGEES Work Programme

IGEES supports better policy analysis and formulation in the civil service through:

· analysis (including economic analysis) and research to inform the development of policy;

· policy analysis and evaluation to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of programmes and policy areas.

· statistical and data analysis to better inform about the policy environment;

· publications, presentations and conference to disseminate analysis and research.

Highlights of some of the deliverables expected to contribute to policy outcomes across Departments are set out below.

Analysis and Research

Policy Analysis and Evaluation

· DBEI – Research and analysis to produce the National Competitiveness Council’s Scorecard report 2020, Competitiveness Challenge report 2020 and Productivity Statement 2020

· DPER – Analysis for Spending Review 2020 including:

· Social Housing Build Expenditure (w/ Housing Vote)

· Review of Brexit and Future Growth Loan Schemes

· Review of Recruitment and Retention of TUSLA staff

· Lifecycle of Supports for Disability

· PSO Governance, Funding and Performance (w/DTTaS)

· DCACE – Economic analysis of regulatory, public policy interventions and options in the electricity market. Advice on possible intervention options and the economic consequences of such action particularly as they relate to competitiveness, security of supply and sustainability.

· DCYA – Enable access to policy relevant research: Access, commission and generate research which meets the needs of DCYA. Focus on delivering a programme of research on child poverty. Outputs include:

· ESRI-DCYA study on the longitudinal effects of child poverty

· ESRI-DCYA study on adolescent behaviour

· DoD – Finalisation of the following priority White Paper projects: (i) a review of high-level Command and Control within the Defence Forces, (ii) the development of a Capability Development Plan for the Defence Forces, (iii) the establishment of the new fixed cycle of defence reviews as a permanent feature of our approach to defence policy, and (iv) a Defence funding study to capture the expected long term costs of meeting Ireland’s defence requirements using a ten year planning horizon.

· DPER Analysis for Spending Review 2020 including:

· Social Housing Build Expenditure

· Review of Brexit and Future Growth Loan Schemes

· Review of Recruitment and Retention of TUSLA staff

· Lifecycle of Supports for Disability

· PSO Governance, Funding and Performance

Statistical and Data Analysis

Presentations and Conferences

· DHPLG – Providing quality assurance of economic reports and analyses, and the application of economic appraisal and evaluation methods, in particular in support of the Public Spending Code;

· Revenue – Weekly statistics and other analysis of the COVID-19 Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme published.

· DAFM –Develop a dedicated statistics area on the DAFM website in conjunction with the Data Analytics Unit.

· DCHG – Information sessions on guidance for capital projects.

· Dublin Economic Workshop

· Igees – Spending Review Conference

· Strategic Policy Discussions throughout 2020.

Snapshot of Achievements in 2019

IGEES resources in Departments, working with other analytical resources in those Departments, contributed evidence and analysis to inform a broad range of Irish public policies and programmes in 2019. In many instances, close cooperation across Departments supported a cross Departmental analysis of key policy issues. Some of the IGEES achievements in 2019 across Departments are set out below. While this list is not exhaustive it is an indication of the breath of work that IGEES resources, alongside their other departmental colleagues, carry out.

Analysis and Research

Policy Analysis and Evaluation

· DFAT – Evaluations of strategic country programmes (Ethiopia, Malawi)

· DJE – Contributed to justice sector costings on the to the Working Group to Consider Alternative Approaches to the Possession of Drugs for Personal Use by undertaking a costings exercise and compiling costings based on high-level estimates and scenario based assumptions with data input from various sources.

· Tao – Developed and implemented value for money framework for evaluating impact of Departmental communications activities

· DTTAS – Transport Trends 2019 published and new statistician added to team to enhance statistical capacity

Statistical and Data Analysis

Presentations and Conferences were used to disseminate analysis and research

· CSO – To turn data and statistics into information and knowledge for all the CSO were 283 electronic releases and 65 publications: 348 in total

· DPER – Over 28 analytical papers published in 2019 including Spending Reviews and Budget 2020 papers

· DEASP – 6 inter-agency collaboration and scenario planning events (October 2019 to January 2020) in certain exposed locations to promote Brexit preparedness, foster linkages and raise awareness of existing State supports. The events were overseen by the Brexit Liaison Group, with the objective of clarifying the role of each State agency in the event of a localised “employment shock” post-Brexit.

· Dublin Economic Workshop

· Igees – Spending Review Conference

· Strategic Policy Discussions throughout 2020.

IGEES Work ProgrammesBy Department

Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine

The mission of DAFM Economics and Planning Division is to provide a quality service to the Minister and Department on economics, statistics and strategic policy planning; to lead on key initiatives; and to contribute effectively to cross Government policy and international agricultural policy and development co-operation.

2020 Output Target

Activities

· Develop and launch new Agri-Food Strategy for 2030 and manage transition from Food Wise 2025 to new strategy.

· Lead DAFM input to implementation of, and timely reporting on, commitments under cross-Governmental policy initiatives, including: Programme for Government; Future Jobs Ireland and Regional APJs; Action Plan for Rural Development; New Rural Development Policy; CEDRA Report and DBEI Sectoral Reports.

· Produce evidence based economic and policy analyses on key issues including: Brexit, CAP Reform; Implications of Transition to a Low Carbon Economy for Agriculture and progress other policy evaluations primarily through the Spending Review process.

· Prepare and publish timely and accurate economic and statistical analysis for the sector; lead DAFM relationship with CSO including through the Ag Statistics Liaison Group. Develop a dedicated statistics area on the DAFM website in conjunction with the Data Analytics Unit. Undertake work relating to the response to the COVID 19 pandemic, including work on supports and economic analyses for the agri-food sector.

· International Agriculture Policy and Development Cooperation: participate effectively in OECD Committee of Agriculture and its subsidiary working parties; contribute to international development cooperation efforts through effective engagement and funding of UN Food and Agriculture Organisation and World Food Programme in liaison with DFAT/Irish Aid; monitor and evaluate DAFM’s international development initiatives; contribute to Ireland’s next Sustainable Development Goal National Implementation Plan

· Progress agri-taxation issues through analysis, evaluation and preparation of annual Budget submission

· Progress access to finance initiatives, including the Brexit Loan Scheme and the Future Growth Loan Scheme

· Develop and monitor a risk management framework to address income volatility

2019 Output

Activity

Achievement

Lead on the process for the development of the next 10 year strategy for the Irish agri-food sector (to replace Food Wise 2025) and ensure that the process and the strategy itself are sufficiently far advanced so that it can be launched in 2020.

· Detailed background papers were prepared to inform the committee’s deliberations

· A public consultation that included written submissions and an online survey was completed,

· An ‘Open Policy Debate’ was held for sectoral stakeholders that included a series of plenary speakers and parallel break-out sessions,

· The high level stakeholder committee was established

Drive Food Wise implementation; adapt and reinforce the strategy through the High Level Implementation Committee (HLIC) process.

· Successful ongoing progress on the 376 Food Wise actions for implementation in 2019. At quarter 3 2019 88% of actions either achieved or substantial action undertaken and ongoing.

· Steps to Success 2019 published in July 2019

· Six HLIC meetings held in 2019

· Sectoral business cases were assessed for employment permits for certain roles on farms and in meat processing facilities where sufficient labour could not be sourced

Lead DAFM input to implementation of, and timely reporting on, commitments under cross-Government policy initiatives, including Programme for Government; Future Jobs and Regional APJs; and Action Plan for Rural Development

· Reported progress on Future Jobs 2019, Action Plan for Rural Development and Regional APJs

· Input into Future Jobs 2020 and New Rural Development Policy

Produce evidence based economic and policy analyses on key issues including: Brexit, CAP Reform and progress other policy evaluations primarily through the Spending Review process

· Analysis carried out as required, including Brexit and CAP including presentation on CAP objective 7 to CAP Consultative Committee

· Two Spending Reviews published; Beef Data Genomics Programme (BDGP) and TB Eradication; Two others substantially advanced.

· Presented Spending Review on BDGP at IGEES Spending Review Conference and Environmental Sustainability Committee.

· Presented all DAFM Spending Reviews at IGEES SPD in November 2019

Prepare and publish timely and accurate economic and statistical analysis for the sector; lead DAFM relationship with CSO including through the Ag Statistics Liaison Group.

· Factsheets on agri-food trade, agriculture, Brexit produced and updated quarterly along with country specific trade fact sheets as appropriate. Annual Review and Outlook for Agriculture, Food and the Marine published.

· Ongoing liaison with CSO, including Annual Agricultural Statisticians Liaison Group meeting in October.

International Agriculture Policy and Development Cooperation: participate effectively in OECD Committee of Agriculture and its subsidiary working parties; contribute to international development cooperation efforts through effective engagement and funding of UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and World Food Programme (WFP), in liaison with DFAT/Irish Aid; monitor and evaluate DAFM’s international development initiatives.

· Ongoing participation and representation at OECD meetings including a panel slot at the Global Forum on Agriculture

· Voluntary contributions to two OECD projects on agri-environmental issues

· DAFM hosted a joint seminar with OECD at its HQ for invited stakeholders

· Ongoing participation in WFP Board meetings

· Ongoing liaison with FAO, WFP & DFAT

Progress agri-taxation issues through analysis, evaluation and preparation of annual Budget submission

· Budget 2020 submission prepared in consultation with stakeholders.

Progress access to finance initiatives, including the Brexit Loan Scheme and the Future Growth Loan Scheme

· Future Growth Loan Scheme successfully delivered to market. Brexit Loan Scheme is subject to ongoing monitoring and work has commenced on an extension to reflect the ongoing Brexit process.

Develop and monitor a risk management framework to address income volatility

· Ongoing assessment of risk management options.

Informing the Debate

Activities

· ‘Open Policy Debate on Irelands Agri-Food Strategy to 2030’ – almost 400 delegates from across the agri-food sector attended; the event was opened by An Taoiseach and saw a number of national and international plenary speakers address topics of importance and this was complimented by six parallel break-out sessions

· A joint seminar between DAFM and OECD to facilitate the presentation of the latest OECD findings in agriculture, food, trade and environment to internal and external invited guests working in these fields

· Steps to Success 2019 https://www.agriculture.gov.ie/media/migration/foodindustrydevelopmenttrademarkets/agri-foodandtheeconomy/foodwise2025/stepstosuccess2019/StepstoSuccess2019MLU310719.pdf

· Presentation on agri-food and the economy and Food Wise Strategy to visiting delegations

· Spending Review publications available at: https://www.gov.ie/en/collection/5915ad-spending-review/

· Annual Review and Outlook for Agriculture, Food and the Marine published

Department of Business, Enterprise & Innovation

DBEI’s mission is to lead on the creation and maintenance of high quality and sustainable full employment across all regions of the country by championing enterprise across government, by supporting a competitive enterprise base to incentivise work, enterprise, trade and investment and by promoting fair and competitive markets.

We will do this by making evidence-based policy, informed by research, analysis and robust evaluations.

2020 Output Target

Deliverables

· Research and analysis to produce the National Competitiveness Council’s Scorecard report 2020

· Research and analysis to produce the National Competitiveness Council’s Ireland’s Competitiveness Challenge report 2020

· Research and analysis to produce the National Competitiveness Council’s Productivity Statement 2020

· NCC Bulletins on specific competitiveness & productivity issues and international competitiveness rankings

· Provision of advice on National Competitiveness based on Ireland’s competitiveness performance benchmarked against a wide range of countries.

· Research into sources of carbon emissions, and opportunities from low carbon technologies, in enterprise and industrial sectors to inform the Department’s implementation of actions under the Climate Action plan.

· Research to inform the development of further steps required to deliver target emissions abatement and identify opportunities for innovation and enterprise development.

· Research on enterprise impacts of electricity policy, including the implementation of the Renewable Energy Support Scheme (RESS) and any proposed new policies regarding microgeneration.

· Analysis on the impacts of new Non-Domestic Water Tariffs on enterprise sectors, and broader water services policy.

2019 Output

Deliverable

Achievement

· NCC- Ireland’s Competitiveness Challenge 2019

· Published Dec 2019

· NCC – Ireland’s Competitiveness Scorecard 2019

· Published July 2019

· NCC – Cost of Doing Business 2019

· Published April 2019

· NCC – Productivity Statement 2019

· Published Nov 2019

· NCC – Bulletins on competitiveness issues

· Bulletins published on Ireland’s Global Competitiveness rankings position (WEF, WMD, and the World Bank)

· Research into sources of carbon emissions in food and drink sectors to inform the Department’s implementation of Action 34 under the Climate Action plan 2019.

· Implementation of DBEI actions assigned in the Climate Action Plan. Analysis of biomass supply chains.

· Research into electricity policy and its impact on the competitive environment for enterprise.

· Written submissions to the Commission for Regulation of Utilities on Connection Policy and Price Review Process.

· Analysis of Water policy and regulation.

· Written submission to the Commission for Regulation of Utilities on regarding proposed decision on Water Tariff Framework for Non-Domestic users.

Informing the Debate

Activities [publication of output, shared learning, methodology used and analysis Activities

· Internal presentation on DBEI’s activities under the Climate Action Plan.

· Analysis on Economic Infrastructure is routinely published as part of public consultation processes.

· Input to the development of National Competitiveness Council publications on an ad-hoc basis.

Department of Children and Youth Affairs (DCYA)

The Department’s Mission is “to lead the effort to improve the outcomes for children and young people in Ireland.” The DCYA’s Research and Evaluation Unit supports and promotes evidence-informed policy to help support the Department in achieving this Mission.

2020 Output Target

Activities

· Enable access to policy relevant research: Access, commission and generate research which meets the needs of DCYA. Focus on delivering a programme of research on child poverty. Outputs include:

· ESRI-DCYA study on the longitudinal effects of child poverty

· ESRI-DCYA study on adolescent behaviour

· Enhance research ‘know-how’, skills and tools: deliver a programme of actions designed to support DCYA to use and critically assess research and data, including a programme of technical supports. Outputs include:

· Support GAL office to develop model for tracking demand

· Develop capacity across the DCYA to engage with a common survey platform

· Publish guidance notes to support policymakers’ role in the research to policy cycle (e.g. the Use and Value of GUI data)

· Manage and develop the Growing up in Ireland Study: progress transition planning to provide GUI with a long term stable future, manage the existing contract and enhance the policy impact of GUI data. Outputs include:

· Complete data collection, Pilot Phase Cohort ’08 at age 13

· Publish new research on the Lives of 9 year olds and technical reports associated with this wave

· Deliver timely and impactful evaluation services: in cooperation with IGEES, meet the evaluation needs of DCYA and support commissioning and engagement with external evaluation. Outputs include:

· Spending Review paper

· Modelling of legal cost service for key DCYA policy reform

· Enhance accessibility and impact of data and information relevant to children’s lives: maintain and update the SONC database, and work cooperatively to enhance visibility and effectiveness of data on children’s lives. Outputs include

· Quarterly Statistical Spotlight series

· Updated data (in open format) for Better Outcomes Brighter Futures indicator set

· Support evidence informed policy making on issues relevant to children’s lives: undertake specific initiatives which bridge the gap between research and policy development, by highlighting the policy implications of specific research initiatives.

· Hold internal ‘policy implications’ seminars & external ‘policy engagement’ for a

· Publish Policy Briefings

2019 Output

Activity

Achievement

Governance & oversight of the Growing Up in Ireland study

· Interdepartmental governance and oversight of GUI contract. Progressed discussions with ESRI and CSO to agree arrangements for the transfer of the GUI survey to the CSO from 2023.

· Two new GUI research reports The Lives of 5 Year Olds and The Effects of Economic Recession and Family Stress on the Adjustment of 3-year-olds published and launched by the Minister

· Four new GUI Key Findings Reports on 20 year olds published and launched by the Minister at the annual GUI Research Conference November 2019

· A series of GUI data workshops run by the GUI Study Team to upskill researchers in the use of GUI data

A number of data projects and statistical outputs developed and/or published.

· Statistical Spotlight on the Reconciliation of Work and Family Life published

· BOBF methodology report published

· Development of online version of the State of the Nation’s Children report

Evaluation projects and supports.

· FPA of ECCE Higher Capitation completed for review

· GOAL 2-day Evaluation Training Programme completed; Pilot 2 delivered

· Guidance Note ‘Evaluating Government-Funded Human Services’ published

· Completion of internal paper for key policy reform

Evidence into Policy Programme implemented

· IRC COALESCE 2018 & 2019 projects funded; 3 research projects commissioned

· Guidance notes published: ‘The need for research’; ‘Defining and Understanding your Policy Problem’. Research briefing on Engagement and School Completion

· Completion of assessment of pilot CPD bursary to EY professionals

· Publication of report of consultation on Open Adoption

· DCYA/ESRI Research Partnership on Children and Young People in Ireland established

Informing the Debate

Activities

· Events (2019)

· Annual GUI research conference held in November

· Regular data workshops provided on the use of anonymised GUI microdata files

· Presentations and inputs provided for an OECD global expert group on Standards of Evidence

· 2-Day training in ‘Understanding Evaluations in Government-Related Human Services’ delivered to 40 staff (representing 15 government Departments)

· Publications (2019)

· GUI research reports: The Lives of 5 Year Olds and The Effects of Economic Recession and Family Stress on the Adjustment of 3-year-olds.

· Four new GUI Key Findings Reports on 20 year olds

· DCYA Guidance notes: ‘The need for research’; ‘Defining and Understanding your Policy Problem’; ‘Evaluating Government-Funded Human Services’.

· Statistical Spotlight on the Reconciliation of Work and Family Life

· Report of consultation on Open Adoption

· BOBF methodology report

· Supports (2019)

· Ongoing provision of GUI data to Departments and agencies in relation to key strategies;

· Promoting the policy relevant use of GUI data (e.g. development of new Youth Justice Strategy and the Action plan for Online Safety).

· Ongoing provision of technical supports/advice to DCYA policy units

Department of Climate Action, Communications & Environment

The Department’s Statement of strategy commits to goals and objectives which are underpinned by evidence-based policy design and deployment. Within the Department, our IGEES Unit plays a critical role in delivering this evidence.

2020 Output Target

Activities

· The Climate Action Plan sets out a detailed programme of work, under 183 separate actions, which is ongoing across Government Departments and agencies, with input as required by Departmental IGEES units. It is anticipated that the Plan will be updated annually and this will require ongoing consideration by Departments to the technical, including IGEES, resources required to ensure delivery of commitments agreed to by Government.

· Renewable Electricity Support Scheme - State Aid Evaluation Plan

· Economic evaluation and guidance for energy policies, including: Renewable Energy Support Scheme, Micro Generation, actions arising under the Climate Action Plan;

· Economic and financial advice in relation to the development of financing structures to be developed by the Retrofit Taskforce.

· Analysis of cost effective climate mitigation proposals under received through the Climate Action Fund.

· Cost benefit analysis for Bord na Móna peatland rehabilitation scheme

· Economic input to regulatory programme and project development/implementation under the Clean Energy Package, Climate Action Plan and National Energy & Climate Plan.

· Economic analysis of regulatory, public policy interventions and options in the electricity market. Advice on possible intervention options and the economic consequences of such action particularly as they relate to competitiveness, security of supply and sustainability.

· Input into the development of Waste Policy in Circular Economy Strategy.

· Assessment of economic contribution of mineral exploration and mining in Ireland and advice on revised royalty policy.

· Economic analysis to feed into new Geoscience Strategy.

· Assisting with PAS recruitment of IGEES Analysts.

2019 Output

Activity

Achievement

Climate Action Plan

· IGESS staff assigned to the Climate Mitigation and Awareness Division of the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment were directly involved in the preparation of the 2019 Climate Action Plan, a significant milestone in national climate policy which sets out how Ireland will meet its climate targets over the next decade, grounded in detailed technical analysis of abatement potential and costs across multiple sectors of the economy.

Price Monitoring Group

· IGEES is represented on the Waste Price Monitoring Group which informs consumers of market developments through analysis of monthly price data.

TV Licence Fee

· IGEES analysis (primarily Multicriteria Analysis) informed report by Working Group on Future Funding of Public Service Broadcasting.

Public Spending Code

· Development of Internal guidelines for the application of the Public Spending Code

· Providing guidance across the Civil Service through One Learning

Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht

D/CHG’s mission is to promote and develop Ireland’s arts, culture and heritage; to advance the use of the Irish language and to facilitate the development of the Gaeltacht and Islands. IGEES staff in D/CHG play key role in delivering this mission by publishing reviews, creating guidance documents and tools, and offering training and advice to staff in our line sections and bodies under the aegis of the Department.

2020 Output Target

Activities

· Publish Spending Review paper on the Impact of Brexit on Údarás na Gaeltachta.

· Complete a review of data collection and use in D/CHG.

· Publish a review of Digitisation Policy in D/CHG.

· Publish a paper on the application of reference class forecasting to capital projects in the culture sector.

· Publish a paper on the measurement of Wellbeing, and its application to economic evaluation and appraisal in Cultural, Heritage and Language Policy.

· Deliver training on the Public Spending Code to D/CHG staff.

· Disseminate our sector-specific economic appraisal methodology.

· Disseminate an economic and financial appraisal tool for capital projects.

· Deliver information sessions on guidance for capital projects.

· Provide advice and technical reviews for appraisal documents relating to capital projects.

· Prepare a guide for the appraisal and implementation of capital programmes, projects, and grants and associated supporting documents.

· Develop templates for Preliminary Business Cases.

· Complete the annual Public Spending Code Quality Assurance Process.

2019 Output

Activity

Achievement

· Spending Review Papers

· Papers published:

· Review of the Arts and Culture Capital Enhancement Support Scheme (ACCESS II),

· Post Project Review of the Pálás Cinema Project,

· 2016 Heritage Council Review – Assessment of Implementation

· Public Spending Code Quality Assurance

· Published 2016/17 QAP Report

· Delivery of Annual Public Spending Code training programme

· Developed guidance and training programmes for D/CHG staff

· Provision of support to the wider Department in the delivery of capital projects under the Department’s capital investment plan.

· Provided advice on the preparation of preliminary appraisals and business cases for National Cultural Institutions Investment Programme and other capital projects.

· Conducted technical reviews of appraisal documents.

· Provided management information in relation to the progress of the programme.

· Developed a template for Strategic Assessment Reports.

Informing the Debate

Activities

· Presented on D/CHG Spending Review Papers at IGEES Strategic Policy Discussion and Spending Review Conference.

· Hosted a Policy Analyst from the Slovakian Ministry of Culture.

· Published 3 Spending Review Papers.

Department of Defence

The Department of Defence and Defence Forces Strategy Statement 2017 – 2020 sets out the following shared High Level Goal: To provide for the military defence of the State, contribute to national and international peace and security and fulfil all other roles assigned by Government.

This High Level Goal comprises three broad Strategic Dimensions: Defence Policy; Ensuring the Capacity to Deliver; and Defence Forces Operational Outputs.

Under the Strategic Dimensions of Defence Policy and Ensuring the Capacity to Deliver, IGEES operates within the Department’s Planning & Organisation Branch which provides strategic planning, analysis and evaluative support to the Department’s Management Board. The Branch also has a key role in implementing the Government’s White Paper on Defence and, in this and other areas, works closely with the Defence Forces’ Strategic Planning Branch. The nature of the project work involved in White Paper implementation, which underpins much of the work of the Branch, is in line with the role of IGEES as it involves policy reviews and evaluations.

2020 Output Target

Activities

· Preparation of a new Department of Defence and Defence Forces Strategy Statement 2020 - 2023.

· Finalisation of the following priority White Paper projects: (i) a review of high-level Command and Control within the Defence Forces, (ii) the development of a Capability Development Plan for the Defence Forces, (iii) the establishment of the new fixed cycle of defence reviews as a permanent feature of our approach to defence policy, and (iv) a Defence funding study to capture the expected long term costs of meeting Ireland’s defence requirements using a ten year planning horizon.

· Finalisation of a project that arises from the Public Service Pay Commission report on recruitment and retention in the Defence Forces, dealing with consideration of additional specialist posts in certain areas of high turnover/long lead-in time.

· Finalisation of a review of Air Traffic Control services provided by the Air Corps at Casement Aerodrome, Baldonnel.

· Provision of a range of supports, including training, evaluation and oversight, to civil and military leaders throughout the Department and the Defence Forces, within an overall implementation framework, who have responsibility for implementing the White Paper.

· Ongoing scanning of trends and developments in the international security and defence environment, for the information of the Department’s senior management.

2019 Output

Activity

Achievement

· Finalisation of the White Paper Update, which commenced in July 2018. The White Paper Update was the first in a new three yearly cycle of defence reviews. Each alternate three yearly review is to be more comprehensive in nature and styled a Strategic Defence Review (SDR).

· The White Paper on Defence Update 2019 was approved by Government and published in December 2019.

· The Update included a comprehensive, cross-government, assessment of the security environment.

· Finalisation of the priority White Paper project that comprises a review of high-level Command and Control within the Defence Forces.

· Leading on other key White Paper initiatives such as the development of a Capability Development Plan for the Defence Forces, a project dealing with the approach to establishing, as a permanent feature, the new fixed cycle of defence reviews, and a Defence funding study to capture the expected long term costs of meeting Ireland’s defence requirements using a ten year planning horizon.

· Maintained progress throughout 2019 in relation to each of these priority White Paper projects.

· Each of these projects are expected to be finalised in 2020.

· Provision of a range of supports, including training, evaluation and oversight, to civil and military leaders throughout the Department and the Defence Forces, within an overall implementation framework, who have responsibility for implementing the White Paper.

· Provided ongoing support to civil and military leaders with responsibility for implementing the White Paper.

· Provided input to the joint civil and military team which has responsibility for oversight and evaluation of the entire White Paper implementation programme.

· The White Paper Update included a comprehensive review of progress in relation to all 95 White Paper projects.

· Ongoing scanning of trends and developments in the international security and defence environment, for the information of the Department’s senior management.

· Monitored and analysed trends and developments in the international security and defence environment.

· The assessment of the security environment, carried out as part of the White Paper Update, included a full review of Developments in the Global and Regional Security Environment, and Developments in the Geopolitical Environment.

Informing the Debate

Activities

· White Paper Update 2019.

Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection

DEASP key outcomes include the production of evidence based advice to Government on the social protection, employment law and labour market/wage policies.

2020 Output Target

Activities

· First draft of a Policy Note on Short Term Work Schemes

· Poverty Impact Assessment of Age related rates of jobseekers for young people age 18-24 years

· Drafting of Pathways to Work 2020-2025 continues, with publication expected in autumn 2020.

· Work is on-going between DEASP and SOLAS’ SLMRU to analyse the business demographics and employee characteristics of those sectors most reliant on UK trade, and thus most exposed to Brexit.

· A scoping paper concerning trends in employment arrangements in Ireland is being drafted and will be put forward to the Labour Market Advisory Council in the coming months.

· Ongoing analysis of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the labour market (‘Informing the Debate’ section below).

· Research is ongoing around the feasibility of a new Short-Time Work Support scheme for Ireland.

· The Labour Market Advisory Council was appointed by the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection in early 2020. The Council’s first task is to advise on the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and associated economic challenges. IGEES economists form part of the Council’s secretariat function, providing and preparing analysis and research as required.

· Ongoing analysis for Department colleagues using SWITCH, the ESRI tax-benefit microsimulation modelling software. This work informs policy sections of the impact of potential changes in policy, particularly ahead of Budget 2021. It is also used on an ongoing basis throughout the year, as requested by colleagues.

· Tendering for new Poverty and Social Inclusion research programme 2020-2022, with project to begin in Q4 2020.

· Ongoing monitoring of commitments under Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025.

· Forthcoming contribution to Social Impact Assessment of Budget 2021.

2019 Output

Activity

Achievement

Brexit Planning

· DEASP organised 6 inter-agency collaboration and scenario planning events (October 2019 to January 2020) in certain exposed locations to promote Brexit preparedness, foster linkages and raise awareness of existing State supports. The events were overseen by the Brexit Liaison Group, with the objective of clarifying the role of each State agency in the event of a localised “employment shock” post-Brexit.

Department’s 2019 work programme

· Assisted in forthcoming publications of 2018 Social Inclusion Monitor and Social Impact Assessment of Budget 2020.

· Assisted in forthcoming publication of research on the impact of non-cash benefits. Research conducted by ESRI; commissioned by the DEASP

Informing the Debate

Activities

· May 2020: DEASP co-authored a working paper with the Central Bank of Ireland entitled ‘The Initial Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Ireland's Labour Market’. The findings of which were then subsequently presented at a webinar organised by DEASP in May and at an IGEES SPD event in June.

· June 2020: the Labour Market Advisory Council published a Policy Paper: 'Preparing for Economic Recovery', which outlines a number of proposals for actions to tackle the severe labour market challenges in Ireland arising as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

· June / July 2020: Analysis of Pandemic Unemployment Payment trends and recipients to forecast future numbers on the scheme. This analysis was used to inform July Jobs Stimulus policy decisions (extension of PUP) and the associated costs.

· August 2020: contributed to the preparation of a presentation made at the North-South Webinar series regarding the Welfare Response to the Covid-19 pandemic and the associated labour market challenge.

· August 2020: SPD presentation on the measurement of youth unemployment

· September 2020: presentation was made at the Dublin Economic Workshop on ‘The Covid-19 Pandemic and the Labour Market: An Analysis of PUP Recipients’.

· September 2020: presentation was made at the 8th Annual NERI Labour Market Conference on ‘Covid-19, the Welfare State & Activation Policy’.

· Shared learning with colleagues in DEASP policy units, and colleagues across Government.

· Ongoing analysis using SWITCH, as requested by DEASP policy units. This work contributes to briefings, Tax Strategy Group and informs policy changes ahead o f Budget 2021.

· Social Inclusion Division research programme 2016-2019 (ESRI) and newly-awarded 2020-2022 contract (ESRI). Multiple annual research outputs on social inclusion, poverty and deprivation. My role involves coordinating with the ESRI on these outputs and the nature of research to be carried out each year.

· Evaluation of JobsPlus finalised with the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (publication expected September 2020)

Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government

The purpose of the housing economics unit is to assist the Department by bringing economic and related analysis to bear on policy areas, operational units, markets, sectors, etc. of importance to the Department’s work.

2020 Output Target

Activities

· Publication of an IGEES funded research paper examining the housing preferences of mature homeowners, with a focus on attitudes toward downsizing.

· Further progress under the Department’s research programme, working in collaboration with the Economic and Social Research Institute, including renewal of the partnership for a further three-year term, the publication of several papers on a range of housing-related topics and the selection of research topics for the fourth year of the programme.

· Providing ongoing economic and statistical analysis and research to support the attainment of the Department’s goals, including regarding:

· Quality assurance of economic reports and analyses, and the application of economic appraisal and evaluation methods, in particular in support of the Public Spending Code;

· Market research and analysis; and,

· Statistical and Econometric analysis, as required.

2019 Output

Activity

Achievement

Activity under the Department’s research programme, working in collaboration with the Economic and Social Research Institute.

· Publication of several housing economics related research papers, including Exploring affordability in the Irish housing market; Social housing in the Irish housing market; A county-level view on first-time buyer housing affordability; and, Price sustainability in the Irish regional housing market.

· Expansion of the research programme to encompass spatial planning research.

IGEES Cross-Department research with the Department of Finance

· Publication of IGEES Research Paper The housing aspirations and preferences of renters

Supporting Business Units by providing economic and statistical assistance and expertise.

· Contribution to diverse areas of work across the Department.

Informing the Debate

Activities

· Jointly hosting, with the Economic and Social Research Institute, the second annual conference on the Irish housing and mortgage market in November 2019.

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

2020 Output Target

Activities

· Malawi Mission Strategy - Finalisation

· Vietnam Mission Strategy Evaluation

· PGII and HPP Evaluation

· Election Observation Roster Review- Finalisation

· Mid Term Review of Zambia

· Spending Review - Ethiopia

· Commercial Attaché initiative Review- Finalisation

· Covid19 Reflections exercise for Management Board

2019 Output

Activity

Achievement

Evaluation and Audit Unit’s 2020 work programme

· Evaluations of strategic country programmes (Ethiopia, Malawi)

· Mid-Term Reviews of programmes in South Africa and Tanzania

· Review Property Management oversight arrangements

· Review of the Election Observation Roster

· Review of the Commercial Attaché Initiative

· OECD Peer Review of our Evaluation Function

Informing the Debate

Activities

· Organise and deliver evaluation seminars in Iveagh House to promote the role of evaluation in support of policy and strategy development. Participants from government departments, academia and civil society.

· Provided recommendations to DCAD management for the development of a new Ethiopia Mission strategy

· Provide Economic insight and analysis to embassy Kampala on Ugandan Governments Budget Reprioritisation

· Working with the Donor Economist Group in Uganda to host a budget information course for Development Partners

Department of Justice & Equality

The Department’s Mission is: “Working together to advance community and national security, promote justice and equality and safeguard human rights”.

IGEES is represented in the Research & Data Analytics Unit of the Department. The Research and Data Analytics Unit supports the research, evaluation and data analytics needs of the entire Department with subject areas ranging from immigration, to criminal justice, to equality. The purpose of the unit is to leverage data analytics to inform both proactive and reactive research along with supporting and promoting evidence based policy to help the department achieve these aims.

2020 Output Target

Activities

· Undertake a review of the Family Mediation service including the development of high level evaluation framework and KPI’s for the project.

· Cost Benefit Analysis for Legislative functions

· Develop an evaluation framework for Youth J-ARC, along with undertaking a desk-based evaluation review of selected JARC programs (an offender management programme)

· Conduct a review of the National Traveller and Roma inclusion strategy

· Evidence review of Behavioural Economics approaches in the criminal and civil justice sectors

· Further development and expansion of the End to End model of criminal justice

· Development of Immigration Service Delivery model

· Undertake costings and economic analysis for the justice and equality sector

· To expand research and data analysis work of the department

2019 Output

Activity

Achievement

· Spending Review

· Completed a spending review on Direct Provision

· Provide ad hoc analysis for divisions across the Department

· Assisted with numerous projects across the department.

· Evaluation Framework for Justice & Equality sector

· Development of a framework document to assist individuals tasked with the undertaking evaluations.

· Contributed to the costings on the justice sector to the Working Group to Consider Alternative Approaches to the Possession of Drugs for Personal Use

· Undertook a costings exercise and compiled costings based on high-level estimates and scenario based assumptions with data input from various sources.

· Further development of the End to End model of criminal justice

· Demonstrated the model to Justice agencies and other key stakeholders

· Addition of implications of resource and capacity constraints

· Modelled a number of different policy scenarios

· Further development and maintaining of the cost of crime model

· Prepared annual estimates to examine how the cost of crime is developing

Informing the Debate

Activities

· Presented at the IGEES induction day

· Published spending review – Direct Provision

· Assisted in the IGEES recruitment open days

· Presented at the Annual ACJRD Conference

Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER)

Statement of Strategy

Enhance economic and policy evaluation capacity across the civil service through the Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service.

2020 Output Target

Deliverables

· Implement the IGEES Medium Term Strategy

· Provide analytical support within the Department through:

· The integration of IGEES output into processes such as the Spending Review;

· Economic and policy analysis to support decision making in the context of Budget 2021; and

· Technical review of business cases and evaluations.

· Analysis for Spending Review 2020 all inculsive:

· Social Housing Build Expenditure (w/ Housing Vote)

· Review of Brexit and Future Growth Loan Schemes

· Review of Recruitment and Retention of TUSLA staff

· Lifecycle of Supports for Disability

· PSO Governance, Funding and Performance (w/DTTaS)

· IGEES Staff Papers on a variety of topics including:

· Distribution of Skills in Small and Medium Enterprises Vs Large Enterprises

· Regional Labour Markets (TBC)

· Characteristics of Low Income Households (TBC)

· Analysis of Female Labour Market Transitions (TBC)

· Analysis completed as part of the Social Impact Assessment Framework including:

· Higher Education Grants

· Review of Social Impact Assessment Framework

· Implementation of the IGEES Learning & Development programme

· Support the IGEES Research Fund

· Capacity building through recruitment and induction at AO and AP level and mobility at AO level

· Capacity building through hosting an IGEES annual conference and other regular IGEES events as fora for discussion of relevant economic and policy analysis issues

· Improved output dissemination through internal and external websites

· Continued roll out of the IGEES Internship Programme

· Enhance Engagement and Data Access with CSO

2019 Output

Activity

Achievement

Produce analytical work, including completing economic and policy analysis as well as supporting expenditure management with timely analysis of programmes and policies.

Over 28 analytical papers published in 2019 including:

Spending Review Papers

· Tusla: Assessment of Performance Measurement

· Costing Framework for the Expansion of GP Care

· Emergency Departments; Trends 2014 – 2017

· Health Workforce: Consultants Pay and Skills Mix 2012 – 2017

· Monitoring Inputs, Outputs and Outcomes in Special Education Needs Provision

· School Transport Expenditure

· Review of Participation in and Costs of Apprenticeships

· Review of Carer’s Supports

· Lone Parent and In-Work Supports for Families and Children

· Analysis of Social Housing Acquisitions

· Analysis of Replacement Rates

· FPA of Capital, Employment, and Training Supports 2005/06 – 2008

· Analysis of SFI Research Grants

· Evaluating the Regional Airports Programme

· Personal Incentives for Electric Vehicle Purchase

· Animal Health – TB Eradication

· The Green, Low Carbon, Agri-Environment Scheme

· Beef Data Genomics Programme

· Overview of the Dublin North East Inner City Initiative

· Post Project Review of the Pálás Cinema Project

· Review of the Arts and Culture Capital Enhancement Support Scheme (Access II)

· 2016 Heritage Council Review – Assessment of Implementation

· Towards a Framework for Multi-Annual Budgeting: Considerations for An Garda Síochána

· Direct Provision: Overview of Current Accommodation Expenditure

· Civil Defence Expenditure

· Budgetary Impact of Changing Demographics from 2020 – 2030

· Public Service Employment and Expenditure Modelling

· Cyclicality of Public Expenditure

· Trends in Public Expenditure

Budget 2020 papers

· Enterprise, Employment and Income Framework

· Quality of Employment

· The Inactive Working Age Population

· Employment and Skills in SMEs Vs Large employers

SIA Papers

· Public Service Obligation (PSO)

· Higher Education Grants (SUSI)

Staff Papers

· Brexit Paper

· Review of DTTaS SR Paper on regional airports

· Analytical note on PSO funding for Public Transport for Budget 2020

· Costing analysis for Childcare Schemes

Research to improve the evidence base for future policy making.

Represent the Department on interdepartmental working groups

Complete examinations of business cases for new spending proposals provided by Departments.

· IGEES Staff across DPER completed reviews of appraisals and CBAs submitted to DPER across 2019.

IGEES Research Fund

· A fund of €50,000 was awarded to two projects.

Informing the Debate

Deliverable

Achievement

Publication of Output

· 77 papers were published on the IGEES website in 2019.

IGEES Annual Conference

· Showcased the work of IGEES from across Departments.

Spending Review Conference

· Conference highlighted the work being undertaken for Spending Review 2019.

Strategic Policy Discussions

·

· There were 13 Strategic Policy Discussion held on a variety of topics in 2019.

Corporate Support

Deliverable

Achievement

Provide central corporate support and leadership for IGEES

· Administrative support to IGEES Advisory Groups and IGEES members.

Recruitment

· Recruitment of 32 Graduate Economists and Policy Analysts.

· Recruitment of 9 AP Economists and Policy Analysts.

· Commenced the next recruitment campaign for IGEES AO Graduate Economists.

Learning and Development

Deliverable

Achievement

CPD

· 2 Multi Criteria Analysis courses were held and attended by 49 people.

· 2 Cost Benefit Analysis courses were held and attended by 48 people.

· A Business Case course was held attended by 16 People.

· 2 Regulatory Impact Assessment courses were held and attended by 38 people.

· 2 Stata courses were run and attended by 52 people.

· 2 R courses were held and attended by 30 people.

Training on evidence informed policy and evaluation

· Evidence based policy making training provided to 156 AO graduates across the Civil Service.

· Training delivered to IPA students.

Department of the Taoiseach

The mission of the Department of the Taoiseach includes supporting the Taoiseach and the Government to develop a sustainable economy and a successful society, to implement the Government's Programme and to build a better future for Ireland and all her citizens.

Economic Division contributes to this work by advising the Taoiseach on economic, enterprise, digital issues, infrastructure and climate change policy aimed at a sustainable and resilient economy. It also supports the work of related Cabinet Committees and inter-departmental Senior Officials’ Groups and leads or co-leads co-ordination on a range of whole of government programmes and initiatives including the Future Jobs Ireland, National Risk Assessment and Ireland's National Reform Programme.

(Economic Division in the Department of the Taoiseach has a broader role than the typical IGEES unit given its whole of Government function and the activities and outputs below are reflective of this)

2020 Output Target

The following activities are indicative, representing a no change policy basis. These are subject to change on appointment of a new Government

Activities

· Develop and publish the National Risk Assessment 2020

· Prepare and submit Ireland's National Reform Programme as part of the European Semester Process

· Monitor and report biannually to Government on the implementation of the Future Jobs Ireland 2020

· Support the implementation of the National Development Plan, the National Planning Framework and the Pensions Reform Plan.

· Support implementation of Rebuilding Ireland, Pathways to Work and other economic policy priorities through supporting Cabinet Committee on Economy and relevant senior officials groups

· Complete Regional Economies Study and other analytical projects as they arise

· Support delivery of Rebuilding Ireland and other measures to increase housing supply and reduce homelessness including through Cabinet Committee on Housing and suporting SOGs.

· Engage in research, analysis and policy development reflecting the Taoiseach and Government's priorities including delivering a monthly economic bulletin and monitoring key economic and societal indicators.

· Support the work of Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure, Climate Change and Housing and relevant senior officials groups

2019 Output

Activity

Achievement

National Risk Assessment

· National Risk Assessment 2019 completed and published

EU Semester

· Ireland's National Reform Programme 2019 completed and published

· Co-ordinated engagement with the EU Commission on the Semester process

Future Jobs Ireland 2019

· Developed and published Future Jobs Ireland 2019

· Monitored whole of government implementation of Future Jobs Ireland 2019. Progress Reports prepared for Government and published.

Support for Cabinet Committees & Senior Officials Groups

· Supported delivery or finalisation of key Government economic strategies and policies through Cabinet Committees including inter alia in the areas of infrastructure, housing, climate change, competitiveness, pensions

Government Information Service

· Developed and implemented value for money framework for evaluating impact of Departmental communications activities

Informing the Debate

Activities

The Division intends to increase its focus on this area in 2020.

· Participated in a range of conference and events including the Spending Review Conference, IGEES Conference, NERI Labour Market Conference, Shanghai Officials Training Programme and several IGEES Strategy Policy Discussion Series

· Organised major consultation Summit as well as bilateral engagements with external stakeholders to inform, develop and advance the Future Jobs Ireland agenda

· Prepared internal analysis and discussion papers on a range of issues including the labour market, enterprise and economic indicators.

Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport

Strategic Research and Analysis Division, IGEES Work Programme

The current Department Statement of Strategy sets out the aim of “shaping the safe and sustainable development of transport, tourism and sport, to support economic growth and social progress”. The purpose of the Strategic Research and Analysis Division (SRAD) within the Department is to provide analysis and a research resource that supports the strategic aims of the Department. This ensures that the divisions and agencies of the Department have access to the necessary support to formulate and develop policies and programmes that are evidence based and are objective in nature. These policies in turn help the Department achieve its high level strategy in an objective and evidence based manner.

2020 Output Target

Activities

· Launch of National Investment Framework for Transport in Ireland (NIFTI)

· Publish and launch NIFTI, the strategic investment framework for transport;

· Complete the Strategic Environmental Process for NIFTI;

· Publish 14 supporting analysis papers;

· Ensure adequate communication and dissemination of NIFTI upon publication

· Update of the Common Appraisal Framework

· Complete study of Value of Travel Time parameters;

· Complete review and update of other technical parameters

· Engage with agencies and key stakeholders and ensure incorporation

· Publish updated document

· Public Spending Code

· Appraisals – Review Investment Appraisals for DTTAS expenditure and assess compliance with Public Spending Code;

· Complete QAP 2018;

· Progress and complete QAP 2019;

· Spending Review –review the PSO grant funding programme and how it operates ;

· Value for Money Reviews – Publish Tourism Marketing Fund VFM;

· Support the establishment of a new Search and Rescue Aviation Programme that is PSC compliant;

· Complete review of sustainable travel grants

· Provide ongoing departmental support to ensure major forthcoming projects such as the Metro, Bus Connects and the M20 are compliant with the PSC

· Develop PSC related guidelines for use in Greenway projects

· Development of Statistics and Evidence

· Complete and publish Transport Trends 2020

· Design and complete Departmental statistical bulletin

· Begin and progress compilation of data from different Divisions within the Department

· Review National Travel Survey Process and publish findings and recommendations

· Identify and conduct analysis based on National Vehicle and Driver File

· Participate in Transport statistics liaison group, Census 2021 advisory group and Formal Statistician Liaison Group

· Support work of Climate Change Policy unit

· Provide analytic input to CCU work programme

· Support EV Policy Pathways Working Group, including papers on International Experience, updating modelling of the Irish Car Fleet and Tax Implications of LEVs

· Support Irish engagement with the update of the EU’s 2030 reference scenario

· Support DTTAS engagement with Government Climate Action Strategies

· Analysis for other Transport Policy Areas

· Provide assistance in developing new Regional Airports Programme

· International Transport Forum

· Support hosting of presidency of International Transport Forum in 2021

· Assist in the preparation and delivery of Ireland’s ITF Presidency Summit in 2021

· Provide Irish representation at and participation in TMB and Taskforce meetings

2019 Output

Activity

Achievement

NIFTI

· Supporting analysis completed

Public Spending Code

· Input into new PSC provided

· New central parameters incorporated into current Common Appraisal Framework guidance

· Spending Review of Regional Airports Programme completed

· 25 Business Cases and 20 Project Appraisal Plans reviews completed

Development of Statistics and Evidence

· Transport Trends 2019 published

· New statistician added to team to enhance statistical capacity

Analysis for Transport Policy Areas

· Analysis of the economic impact of Aviation and Airports in Ireland, at the request of the Airports Division, provided

Other Analysis & Work

· Representation provided for European Commission’s Strategic Transport Research & Innovation Agenda (STRIA) Governance group

International Transport Forum (ITF)

· Organised November ITF meeting in Dublin Castle along with other sponsored events for attendees

· Representation provided at ITF’s Transport Research Committee & ITF Decarbonising Transport meetings

Informing the Debate

Activities

Publications

· Transport Trends 2019

· Regional Airports Programme Spending Review

Presentations

· Presentations on at ITF November meeting

· Fostering Innovation: Sustainable Micro-mobility Partnerships

· Department Lunch & Learn held for Transport Trends 2019

· Presentation on NIFTI provided at TII annual conference

Central Statistics Office

CSO wants to deliver Official Statistics and high- quality insight in support of public discourse and informed decision making, releasing the power of data as a strategic asset for modern Ireland. The CSO’s work is critical in informing debate and in supporting decision making and accountability in Ireland. There is an increasing appetite for timely, detailed, relevant, objective and independently compiled information addressing topics which reflect changes in Ireland’s economy and society.

The importance of timely data came into sharp focus during the COVID-19 pandemic. Statistical analysis services supplied by CSO informed the national response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The role of data as a strategic asset supporting the identification of issues and informing the policy response was crucial as was the real time analysis of the impact on our economy and society. CSO responded by provided statistical and analytical expertise and new data services to support central government’s response to the pandemic. CSO also developed a series of new surveys, outputs and formats to capture the changing state of aspects of Ireland's economy and society since the COVID-19 outbreak

The Statistical Work Programme for 2020 published earlier this year sets captures the CSO’s planned statistical products for the year (https://www.cso.ie/en/aboutus/lgdp/cgt/ocg/swp2020/swp2020/). The delivery of the programme will meet the first goal in the CSO’s current Statement of Strategy which is to “Turn data and statistics into information and knowledge for all”.

CSO’s new Statement of Strategy 2020-2023, is currently being finalised and is due to be published in the autumn.

The CSO will continue to engage with society and with our stakeholders, build statistical literacy, make statistical results more accessible to professional and lay audiences, and meet the demands for insight

 required by our expert users. 

Official Statistics are an essential part of creating an informed society for the people of Ireland. 

2020 Output Target

Activities

· CSO’s Statistical Work Programme 2020 The CSO will deliver on the Statistical Work programme for the year as shown on https://www.cso.ie/en/aboutus/lgdp/cgt/ocg/swp2020/swp2020/

·

· CSO will deliver a series of COVID-19 supports and services throughout 2020 as detailed in the activities below.

· The CSO will deliver a new long term vision for the organisation in CSO 2030 and a new Statement of Strategy for 2020-2023 setting out the goals for the first phase of the delivery of the long term strategy

2019 Output

Activity

Achievement

Department’s 2019 work programme

Annual Progress Report on the Statistical Work Programme 2019

https://www.cso.ie/en/aboutus/lgdp/cgt/ocg/swp2020/swp2019/prswp2019/

Turning data and statistics into information and knowledge for all

· In 2019 there were 283 electronic releases and 65 publications: 348 in total.

· New products released in 2019 included:

· Gender Balance in Business Statistics (Biennial)

· Recorded Crime Victims (Annual)

· International Accounts (incorporating Balance of International Payments and International Investment Position)

· CSO Report on the Feasibility of Collecting Price Information on the Cost of Insurance to Businesses

· Regional SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) Ireland 2017 (Annual)

· Gender Balance in Business Survey

· Geographic Profiles of Income in Ireland

2016

· HSE funded GP Claims Release

· Higher Education Outcomes – Graduation

Years 2010-2016

· Further Education Outcomes – Graduation

Years 2010-2016

· Exporting Enterprises in Ireland 2017

· Measuring distances to everyday services

in Ireland 2019

· Post Primary Outcomes Academic Years

Ending 2012 & 2013

· Urban and Rural Life in Ireland, 2019

· A Profile of Ireland's Border Population 2016

· In addition to the new products the CSO also announced that they were taking over

the Growing Up in Ireland Survey from 2023. This survey is the national longitudinal study

of children and youth which started in 2006 and since its inception has been conducted by

the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI). The survey is funded by the

Department of Children and Youth Affairs (DCYA) and is overseen by the DCYA in

association with the Central Statistics Office. The data is collected under the Statistics Act

1993.

Increase use of secondary data sources including admin data and Big Data

· Memoranda Of Understanding were signed with the Central Bank Of Ireland, Higher Education Authority, the Dublin Airport Authority, and with the Department of Justice and Equality. An updated Memorandum Of Understanding was signed in 2019 with the Companies Registration Office (CRO)

· Action 24 of Civil Service Renewal (Improve how data is collected, managed and shared) and Action 7 of Our Public Service (Optimise the use of data) are also central to the development of the administrative system across the Civil Service and the broader Public Service, and Official Statistics will be a down-stream beneficiary. We are making progress, on all fronts, with a growing awareness on the value to Ireland’s administrative systems of National Data Infrastructure.

· The CSO continues to publish horizontal reports, using administrative data and secondary data sources to plug important gaps to inform policy and public discourse. e.g. the reports on Geographical Profiles of Income in Ireland 2016 and Urban and Rural Life in Ireland 2019.

· In June 2019 the CSO published a report entitled Geographical Profiles of Income in Ireland 2016, which examines income for both households and individuals by county and by Electoral Division. Income is also examined across the areas of housing, health, education, occupation and commuting. 

This report is an example of the policy-relevant research projects the CSO are developing as part of the CSO’s leadership role of the Irish Statistical System. Our goal is to maximise the variety and volume of data available to provide high quality information to the Government, businesses and citizens.

· In July 2019, the CSO published two reports on graduate outcomes in Ireland, namely Higher Education Outcomes – Graduation Years 2010-2016, and Further Education Outcomes – Graduation Years 2010-2016. These two publications analyse the destinations of graduates from Ireland’s Higher and Further Education sectors in terms of employment, re-enrolment in education, the industry sectors that graduates work in and the earnings that they receive over time. These reports represent the largest analysis ever carried out on the destinations of Irish graduates, with over 300,000 individual graduations examined and is part of a series of projects that the CSO has established in collaboration with Irish public sector bodies to examine learner outcomes.

· November 2019 saw the publication of “Measuring Distance to Everyday Services in Ireland 2019” which combines data from CSO, Ordnance Survey Ireland (OSI) and a range of service providers to show how close or how far away people live from common everyday facilities such as schools, hospitals, fire stations, public transport stops etc. This publication originates from a memorandum of understanding signed between Ordnance Survey Ireland (OSI) and CSO.

Continue to build the capacity of our people

· European Masters in Official Statistics (EMOS)

CSO has progressed the EMOS Programme with University College Dublin (UCD). UCD have included the EMOS as an option for MA in Statistics course on the 2019/2020 academic curriculum offerings. CSO will provide lecturers to deliver the module on Official Statistics. CSO will take UCD EMOS students on workplace in future years. This will be further developed with UCD ahead of the 2020/2021 academic year.

· CSO have supported University College Cork's (UCC) EMOS application which was submitted in December 2019. If the application is successful CSO will provide lecturers to deliver the module on Official Statistics and will take UCC EMOS students on workplace.

· Development of the CSO's new People Strategy was completed in 2019 and it sets out the CSO's key strategic goals in relation to its staff. These goals encompass fostering a great place to work that engages, enables and empowers our people; build the statistical and non-statistical capacity of our team; prioritises leadership and management capabilities and positions the HR function as a key driver of strategic change.

·

Modernise our statistical processes and systems

· All statistical process documentation both for survey manuals and process maps have been lodged to the Quality Information System in a Generic Statistical Business Process Model ( GSBPM) format , which is the UN standard for the organization of processing of official statistics. A review process with process owners began in 2019 ensuring that process documentation remains up to date.

· The migration of all statistical data to a newly designed, GSBPM classified, corporate data structure commenced in 2019 and is scheduled to be finalised in early 2020.

·

· Business Register Development: Following from the user needs analysis, a joint business and IT team prepared the functional requirements for the business register, in consultation with all relevant CSO stakeholder areas (including National Accounts, Balance Of Payments, Trade, Transport). The CSO commenced development to modernise the platform for the business register, based on this business -driven functional specification, and in line with the CSO’s strategic architecture to provide additional functionality required by each of the stakeholder business areas.

·

Coordinate, oversee and assure the quality of all Official Statistics produced in Ireland

· We have continued to engage in joint research projects with Public Sector Bodies (PSB) resulting in new statistical analysis and products. These engagements support the PSB to see the value of their data but also the importance of the quality of their underlying data. We have continued to promote and oversee the uptake of Irish Statistical System Code of Practice (ISSCoP) in the Irish Statistical System (ISS).

· We now have 24 professional staff embedded across 13 Government Departments/ Offices with demands for professional staff increasing all the time.

· There is a strong demand for secondments from current and new Departments; many have requested experienced statisticians and hopefully the opportunities on offer will appeal to experienced staff. Further secondments will be considered based on new statistician panels.

· Progress is being made on the development of the Unique Business Identifier in the context of the National Data Infrastructure and is being monitored through the Civil Service Management Board (CSMB).

· Progress is being made in the context of ‘pathfinder projects’ and 'horizontal reports', in partnership with Public Service Bodies and in relation to the work of the National Data Infrastructure (NDI) Champions Group.

In 2019 the CSO published the following

Pathfinder and horizontal reports:

· Higher Education Outcomes 2010 – 2016

· Further Education Outcomes 2010 – 2016

· Post Primary Outcomes for academic years ending 2012 and 2013

· Geographical Profiles of Income in Ireland 2016

· Urban and Rural Life in Ireland, 2019

· Measuring Distance to Everyday Services in Ireland, 2019

· Projected First-Issue Driving Learner Permits 2018 – 2021

Informing the Debate

Activities [publication of output, shared learning, methodology used and analysis developed, presentations, events etc.]

Response to COVID-19 in 2020

CSO has provided statistical and analytical expertise and new data services to support central government’s response to the pandemic.

· CSO developed a COVID-19 Data Research Hub to enable specialised experts such as epidemiology and related subject matter experts to collaborate with CSO teams in analysing sensitive health data sources in a safe environment. This work has helped to inform the response to the pandemic. The Hub will become available more widely for medical research later in the year under a governance structure managed by the Health Research Board.

· CSO has developed an information dashboard for the Department of the Taoiseach in response to the pandemic, which tracks, in real time, the critical data which provides evidence of a need to rapidly respond to certain trends as well as identifying potential emerging issues.

· CSO has collaborated with Ordnance Survey Ireland (OSI), the Department of Housing, Planning & Local Government (DHPLG) and the All Island Research Observatory (AIRO) in Maynooth University, along with Esri Ireland to develop a National Covid-19 Data Hub on the GeoHive platform to allow for geospatial visualization during the pandemic.

· Alongside the new data services developed to support the national response, the CSO has developed a series of new surveys, outputs and formats to capture the changing state of aspects of Ireland's economy and society since the COVID-19 outbreak

· The CSO has developed a Covid-19 Information Hub on the CSO website where statistics, sourced from a broad range of sources including the Central Bank of Ireland, other Government Departments and bodies and international sources along with Central Statistics Office statistics, are available. The hub captures the changing state of the economy, labour market, society, wellbeing, health, transport, energy and tourism during the pandemic.

· The CSO introduced the Business Impact of COVID-19 survey in April to measure and report quickly on the key features of how the pandemic has impacted on business in Ireland. To date six waves of the survey have been collected with the most recent results for wave five published on 18 August. The results for wave six will be published on 16 September and the CSO is planning a more detailed survey for the end of this year which will look in greater depth at the impacts of COVID-19 and provide estimates of how many businesses are continuing to trade and the effect on their turnover, costs and numbers that they employ

· CSO also introduced the Social Impact of COVID-19 survey in April to measure and report quickly on the impact of the pandemic on society and to help inform society and decision makers. The first wave of the survey covered topics such as well-being, personal concerns, consumption, working life and compliance with official COVID-19 advice. The next iteration of the survey in June featured reports on “A Snapshot of Experiences and Expectations in a Pandemic” and “Measuring Comfort Levels around the Easing of Restrictions”. The latest wave of the survey covered the re-opening of schools and focused on topics such as the impact that enforced school closures has had on primary and secondary school students’ education, concerns related to returning to school and the potential impacts if schools have to close again in the coming academic year. The survey also included questions on potential take-up of vaccines, personal well-being and compliance with the government’s current advice and guidelines regarding COVID-19. The report was published on 27th August last to coincide with the reopening of schools.

· Other new outputs delivered include; the Impact of COVID- 19 on Virtual Life, ICT Usage during COVID-19, Employment and Life Effects of COVID- 19 and the Social Impact of COVID 19 on Wellbeing.

· A new bulletin output called Deaths and Cases series was developed and five editions published to date to provides insights on those who have either died or contracted COVID-19 by using data from the Computerised Infectious Disease Reporting (CIDR) provided to the CSO by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre. 10 volumes of the bulletin have been published with analysis now covering almost all aspects of COVID medical data, including socio-economic breakdowns. Further analysis relating to data on community referrals and testing will be added to the bulletin later in September, which is the last major gap in the analysis.

· A number of new outputs and measures have been introduced. relating to the labour market. The COVID-19 Adjusted Measures of Employment and Unemployment have continued to be published as part of the LFS and Monthly Unemployment Estimates release since March 2020. Weekly updates are also published containing detailed breakdowns of the number of persons who are on the Live Register or in receipt of the COVID-19 income supports.

· The LFS release for Q2 2020 on 25 August 2020 was accompanied by the first edition of a 'Labour Market Insight Series'. This is a series of bulletin style releases designed to provide high-level supplementary analysis to users alongside the current outputs and metrics. The data is sourced from the LFS and administrative datasets. The first insight bulletin was specifically designed to give context to the standard LFS results for Q2 2020 and further iterations of this new series of outputs will focus on specific aspects of the labour market.

· CSO has also developed new interactive graphics, infographics, new formats and outputs to provide the additional insight needed by the public, businesses and policy makers on the impact of the pandemic.

Office of the Revenue Commissioners

The Office’s Mission Statement, as set out in its Statement of Strategy 2020-2022, is "to serve the Community by fairly and efficiently collecting taxes and duties and implementing customs controls". It is in this context that Revenue’s IGEES Unit provides economic and policy analysis support for the Office, working closely with the Department of Finance and other key stakeholders.

2020 Output Target

Activities

· Production of tax receipt estimates to support Department of Finance forecasts

· Ongoing development and refinement of Tax Modeller, Revenue’s microsimulation model

· Research on the effectiveness of Revenue programmes

· Policy evaluation research to support Department of Finance reviews

· In-depth research on taxation issues and receipts to inform decision making and policy

· Economic analysis and support to transfer pricing cases and international taxation issues

· Represent Ireland’s interests at OECD Working Party 2 and other international fora

2019 Output

Activity

Achievement

Office’s 2019 work programme

· Supporting Revenue decision making ad informing policy through 6 research reports published and others produced internally in Revenue

· Conducting customer survey of employers and regular market surveys for cigarettes and cross border prices

· Showcasing of Revenue experiences in applying behavioural insights to support broader application of behavioural economics across the Irish civil and public service

· Delivering material benefits to the Exchequer through timely and robust advice on transfer pricing issues

Informing the Debate

Activities

· Weekly statistics and other analysis of the COVID-19 Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme published

· Research papers published on Revenue.ie

· Open Data and statistics published on Revenue.ie, linking to National Open Data Portal

· Presentations to domestic and international conferences and seminars, including co-hosting with IGEES a seminar for users of Revenue Statistics in July 2019

· Delivery of analytics training programmes

· Analysis to support transfer pricing and state aid cases in Revenue

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