Work Programme Archive

• Climate Change & Sustainable Development

  NESC has integrated sustainable development research with its core work programme to foster synergies and collaboration across environmental, social and economic sustainable development. We receive annual research funding from the Department of Environment, Climate Action and Communications. Some of our previous and most significant research in this area includes the following: Natural Capital Accounting Just…

• Economy, Resilience and Vulnerability

  This work focuses on the nature of the Irish economy, its underlying strengths, areas of vulnerability. It examines various ways in which resilience can be understood and framed, in the face of continuing turbulence and fundamental crises of climate change and biodiversity loss. Below is a short excerpt from Understanding the Irish Economy in a…

• Lessons from the Pandemic

  The nature of the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in it impacting on almost every aspect of our lives: from how we interacted and socialised throughout its two-year duration, to how we worked, learned, consumed, and more. These impacts revealed lessons for many facets of our world, including lessons for public policy – the focus of this…

• Well-Being Framework

  The 2020 Programme for Government committed to developing a set of well-being indices for Ireland, to create a well-rounded, holistic view of how Irish society is faring; and to utilise these indices in a systematic way across government policymaking at local and national levels, in setting budgetary priorities, evaluating programmes and reporting progress.  Since then,…

• Good Jobs, Transition and Better Work

  A Council Report, “Towards a National Better Work Strategy,” based on the programme of research below has been published. Read the press release also. While Ireland’s labour market has demonstrated remarkable resilience and dynamism in the post-covid era, reaching record levels of employment, this project explores the case for a concerted policy focus on ‘Making Work…

• Digital Inclusion

  Society is changing profoundly as a result of Covid-19, and information and communications technology (ICT) is playing a critical role. ICT is helping our society function effectively with less proximate contact, whether it is in terms of remote working, learning or recreational activity.  This has brought to the fore some long-standing issues in relation to…

• Shared Island

  NESC has been undertaking, at the request of the Department of the Taoiseach, a programme of research to produce a comprehensive report on the Shared Island to inform the development of the Shared Island Initiative as a whole of Government priority. The most recent report, Exploring Shared Opportunities in the North West: Findings from Focus Groups,…

• Covid-19 Working Paper Series

  The Covid-19 pandemic presented a very significant public health and public policy challenge to our country, and indeed globally – accordingly, NESC undertook research to contribute to Ireland’s policy response. This work supplemented recently completed (at the time) research on economic transition that was relevant to Covid-19, dealing with employment vulnerability and building resilience in…

• Transition Teams

  Addressing Employment Vulnerability as Part of a Just Transition in Ireland The transitions to a low-carbon, more technological Ireland are underway and intertwined. The Government has correctly sought to play its part in mitigating any negative impacts these changes may have on employment. In 2019, the Government asked NESC to identify steps that could be…

• Land Use, Land Value and Urban Development

  NESC has helped build consensus across diverse economic and social groups on the issue of housing. It has done so by creating a shared understanding and vision of the overall system, rooted in active and sustainable land use and development and commitment to permanent affordability. Past NESC Council, and Secretariat, work in this area and…