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 a

public policy Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a Group decision-making, decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to Problem solving, solve or address relevant and problematic social issues, guided by a conceptio ...

advisors, research institutes, think tanks, and public administration consultants for governments or on issues of public importance, most frequently in the

science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

s but also in the

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...

. 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 they are explicitly or de facto an arm of government; in others, as in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, 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 France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, where the groups five self-governing Academies, or

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. In many states, they are organized in academies of science. In the countries of the former

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, and in the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, 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.

United States

In 1863,

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

incorporated the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), also known as the National Academies, is a Congressional charter, congressionally chartered organization that serves as the collective scientific national academy of the Uni ...

(NASEM). The affiliated organizations were granted congressional charters to operate under the National Academy of Sciences. In 1916 President Woodrow Wilson reincorporated the organization under the National Research Council to foster scientific research emphasizing American industries. Today NASEM is composed of three non-profit member organizations: the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), and the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) (after 2015; formerly Institute of Medicine (IoM)). The U.S. national academies also serve as

advisors, research institutes, think tanks, and public administration consultants on issues of public importance or on request by the government.

United Kingdom

In the

four national academies are the major learned societies of England: the Academy of Medical Sciences, British Academy, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society. In addition, there are the Learned Society of Wales in

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

and the Royal Society of Edinburgh in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. The UK Young Academy is for young scientists.

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 physicist Harry 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.

List

* : Academy of Sciences of Albania * : Armenian National Academy of Sciences * : Australian Academy of Science, Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, Australian Academy of the Humanities, Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia, National Academies Forum * : Austrian Academy of Sciences * : Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences * : National Academy of Sciences of Belarus * : Royal Academy of French Language and Literature of Belgium, Royal Academy of Dutch Language and Literature; see also Academies of Belgium * : Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina * : Brazilian Academy of Sciences * : Bulgarian Academy of Sciences * : Royal Society of Canada, Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, Canadian Academy of Engineering * : Royal Academy of Cambodia * : * : Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Chinese Academy of Engineering, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences ** : Hong Kong Academy of the Humanities * – Academia Nacional de Ciencias (Costa Rica) * – Académie des sciences, des arts, des cultures d'Afrique et des diasporas africaines * : Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts * : Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic * : Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters * : Estonian Academy of Sciences * : Imperial Academy (former) * : The Finnish Academy of Science and Letters () is a Finnish-speaking academy, while The Finnish Society of Science and Letters (, ) is bilingual. In the field of engineering, the Finnish Academy of Technology (, ) is bilingual while the Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences in Finland () Swedish-speaking. The Academy of Finland is not an academy in the sense of this article, but the state research funding agency. * : The comprises five academies, including the and

French Academy of Sciences The French Academy of Sciences (, ) is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French Scientific method, scientific research. It was at the forefron ...

Spanish language Spanish () or Castilian () is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. Today, it is a world language, gl ...

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American Nonprofit organization, nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. It is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), along with the National Academ ...

(NAE), the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), and the National Research Council (NRC). See also American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Letters, American Academy of Diplomacy, Academy of American Poets, National Academy of Design. * : Pontifical Academy of Sciences * : Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST) 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.

References

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