New Director appointed to The Policy Institute, TCD

Posted on: 10 October 2005

The Policy Institute, Trinity College Dublin is delighted to announce the appointment of Prof. Frances Ruane as Director for a three-year period commencing October 2005.

Trinity College’s research strategy prioritised policy research in its five year Strategic Plan. The Policy Institute contributes to this research agenda by publishing research studies in public policy and offering a forum to facilitate dialogue between the academic and wider policy community in Ireland.

Frances Ruane is an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics, Trinity College Dublin and Director of the MSc in Economic Policy Studies. She is currently a member of the Advisory Board to The Competition Authority and of the board of Bord Gais Eireann and represents Ireland on the European Advisory Committee on Statistical Information in the Economic and Social Spheres (CEIES) and on the Euro-50 Group. Her academic research interests cover industrial economics, international trade, evaluation and economic development policy. She is currently engaged in a major programme of research on productivity, trade and innovation in the Irish manufacturing sector.

Prof. Ruane replaces Prof. Bob Holton, Chair of Sociology, TCD who was Director from 2002 – 2005. In thanking Professor Holton for his substantial contribution to the development and activities of the Institute during his Directorship, Prof. Ruane said “I am delighted to be following Bob Holton as Director of the Policy Institute. In the past three years, he has contributed greatly to the development of the Institute, which has had generous financial support from Atlantic Philanthropies. One of his important legacies is the establishment of the lecture series “Reshaping Irish Institutions”, where he drew on his experience of many years of active engagement in the process of public sector reform in Australia.”

Prof. Holton will remain actively involved in the Institute as Chair of the Advisory Council and through his work as the Principal Investigator for Trinity in the GARNET European Sixth Framework network of excellence.

For more information on the Policy Institute please visit the website: https://www.tcd.ie/policy-institute/ or contact the Institute’s Research Co-ordinator, Sinead Riordan (email: sriorda@tcd.ie, telephone: 01 608 3482).