A national academy is an organizational body, usually operating with state financial support and approval, that co-ordinates scholarly research activities and standards for academic disciplines, and serves as public policy advisors, research institutes, think tanks, and public administrationconsultants for governments or on issues of public importance, most frequently in the sciences but also in the humanities. Typically the country's learned societies in individual disciplines will liaise with or be coordinated by the national academy. National academies play an important organisational role in academic exchanges and collaborations between countries.
The extent of official recognition of national academies varies between countries. In some cases, like France or Spain, they are explicitly or de facto an arm of government; in others, as in the United Kingdom, they are voluntary, non-profit bodies with which the government has agreed to negotiate, and which may receive government financial support while retaining substantial independence. In some countries, a single academy covers all disciplines. In others, there are several academies, which work together more or less closely; for example, France, where the Institut de France groups five self-governing Academies, or Spain, where the Institute of Spain fulfills a similar function. In many states, they are organized in academies of science. In the countries of the former Soviet Union, and in the People's Republic of China, the national academies have considerable power over policy and personnel in their areas. There is, however, a growing consensus among international federations of learned academies that bona fide national (or learned) academies need to adhere to certain criteria:
The fellowship is elected, on the basis of excellence, by existing fellows (members)
The number of fellows is restricted either to a total number or to a rate of accretion
The governance of the academy is democratic and "bottom up". The fellowship is the ultimate source of the academy's authority
The academy is independent of government, industry and professional associations. Most, if not all, academies derive some financial support from some or all of these other organisations but this support needs to be given in a manner that does not compromise the academy's independence.
Significance
Election to a leading national academy is one of the strongest forms of peer recognition in science and engineering: official academy sources describe it as among the highest professional honors, and empirical studies show that learned-academy fellows are drawn overwhelmingly from the extreme upper tail of scientific achievement. Academy members are also substantially overrepresented among Nobel laureates, although academy election should be understood as elite peer recognition rather than as a formal predictor of Nobel-, Turing-, Abel-, or Fields-level prizes.
The Invisible College was a precursor to the Royal Society of London. In 1660, the informal committee of 12 philosophers formed the College for the Promoting of Physico-Mathematical Experimental Learning.
The British Academy was first proposed in 1899 as the British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies. The name was subsequently shortened and incorporated in 1901, receiving royal charter from King Edward VII in 1902.
The Fellowship of Engineering was conceived in the late 1960s under Harold Wilson, and subsequently established in 1976. It was granted royal charter in 1983 and renamed the Royal Academy of Engineering in 1992.
The academy was established by seven UK/Irish academies.
Kingdom of Spain
Spain's national academy system is organized around the Institute of Spain (Instituto de España), a public-law corporation that brings together the country's Royal Academies of national scope for the coordination of functions they may exercise in common. The Spanish Ministry of Science describes the Institute as Spain's highest national academic representation, both domestically and abroad.
Spanish academies of national scope are created by royal decree and have legal personality and full capacity to carry out their purposes from the moment of their creation. They are composed of a limited number of leading scholars elected by their peers in recognition of exceptional achievement. They are charged with providing independent advice to the government on science or scholarship. Their rights and obligations under public law distinguish them from learned societies established under private law. For example, the Royal Academy of Engineering was created by Royal Decree 859/1994 as a public-law corporation with its own legal personality, to promote engineering science and advise the state and society on technological matters.
Japan
In Japan, all of the national academies were established during the early years of the Showa Era. The two premier national academies in the country are the Science Council of Japan and The Japan Academy. Representing the artistic profession and literature is the Japan Art Academy.
The Science Council of Japan (SCJ) was founded by American physicistHarry C. Kelly in 1949 during the Allied occupation of Japan as a special organisation under the Prime Minister's jurisdiction, operating independently from the Government of Japan to promoting and enhancing scientific research in the country. The SCJ represents all Japanese scientists, researchers and engineers from multiple fields from the natural sciences to the humanities, making necessary policy recommendations relating to science and technology to the national government. The SCJ has 210 Council Members stipulated by a mandated quota as well as 2,000 Associate Members nationwide.
The Japan Academy was originally established as the Tokyo Academy, becoming the Imperial Academy later in 1907. The academy awards three prestigious awards: The Imperial Prize, The Duke of Edinburgh Prize, and The Japan Academy Prize.
Finland: The Finnish Academy of Science and Letters (Finnish: Suomalainen tiedeakatemia) is a Finnish-speaking academy, while The Finnish Society of Science and Letters (Swedish: Finska vetenskaps-societeten, Finnish: Suomen tiedeseura) is bilingual. In the field of engineering, the Finnish Academy of Technology (Finnish: Teknillisten tieteiden akatemia, Swedish: Akademin för Tekniska Vetenskaper) is bilingual while the Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences in Finland (Swedish: Svenska tekniska vetenskapsakademien i Finland) Swedish-speaking. The Academy of Finland is not an academy in the sense of this article, but the state research funding agency.
Within most countries, the unqualified phrase "National Academy" will normally refer to that country's academy. For example, within the United States, the plural phrase "National Academies" is widely understood to refer to the U.S. National Academies.
↑Hoare, James E. (2012). "Academy of Sciences". Historical Dictionary of Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Lanham: Scarecrow Press. p.36. ISBN978-0-8108-7987-4. Archived from the original on 2023-07-07. Retrieved 2017-02-06.
