The National Academies

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 administration consultants 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.