Ragnar Lie has worked within research administration since 1989. From 1989 - 1993 he was Senior Executive at NAVF, Norwegian Research Council for Science and the Humanities. During 1993 and 1994 he was employed as Advisor at the new merged Research Council of Norway. Still employed at the Research Council he moved to ARENA at the University of Oslo when the programme started in 1994. As the ARENA programme completed in 2003 and was reorganised as a centre at the Universitry of Oslo in 2004, Lie continued his position as administrative director at ARENA.
Ragnar Lie graduated as Cand.Polit. from Department of Comparative Politics, University of Bergen in 1986.