Science policy

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Graphical summary of a position paper on proposed changes to science policy in the Netherlands around academic incentive and reward structures 283.002-Erkennen-en-Waarderen-Position-Paper EN web.pdf
Graphical summary of a position paper on proposed changes to science policy in the Netherlands around academic incentive and reward structures

Science policy is concerned with the allocation of resources for the conduct of science towards the goal of best serving the public interest. Topics include the funding of science, the careers of scientists, and the translation of scientific discoveries into technological innovation to promote commercial product development, competitiveness, economic growth and economic development. Science policy focuses on knowledge production and role of knowledge networks, collaborations, and the complex distributions of expertise, equipment, and know-how. Understanding the processes and organizational context of generating novel and innovative science and engineering ideas is a core concern of science policy. Science policy topics include weapons development, health care and environmental monitoring.

Contents

Science policy thus deals with the entire domain of issues that involve science. A large and complex web of factors influences the development of science and engineering that includes government science policymakers, private firms (including both national and multi-national firms), social movements, media, non-governmental organizations, universities, and other research institutions. In addition, science policy is increasingly international as defined by the global operations of firms and research institutions as well as by the collaborative networks of non-governmental organizations and of the nature of scientific inquiry itself.

History

State policy has influenced the funding of public works and science for thousands of years, dating at least from the time of the Mohists, who inspired the study of logic during the period of the Hundred Schools of Thought, and the study of defensive fortifications during the Warring States period in China. General levies of labor and grain were collected to fund great public works in China, including the accumulation of grain for distribution in times of famine, [1] for the building of levees to control flooding by the great rivers of China, for the building of canals and locks to connect rivers of China, some of which flowed in opposite directions to each other, [2] and for the building of bridges across these rivers. These projects required a civil service, the scholars, some of whom demonstrated great mastery of hydraulics.

In Italy, Galileo noted that individual taxation of minute amounts could fund large sums to the State, which could then fund his research on the trajectory of cannonballs, noting that "each individual soldier was being paid from coin collected by a general tax of pennies and farthings, while even a million of gold would not suffice to pay the entire army." [3]

In Great Britain, Lord Chancellor Sir Francis Bacon had a formative effect on science policy with his identification of "experiments of ... light, more penetrating into nature [than what others know]", [4] which today we call the crucial experiment. Governmental approval of the Royal Society recognized a scientific community which exists to this day. British prizes for research spurred the development of an accurate, portable chronometer, which directly enabled reliable navigation and sailing on the high seas, and also funded Babbage's computer.

The professionalization of science, begun in the nineteenth century, was partly enabled by the creation of scientific organizations such as the National Academy of Sciences, the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute, and State funding of universities of their respective nations. In the United States, a member of the National Academy of Sciences can sponsor a Direct Submission for publication in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . [5] PNAS serves as a channel to recognize research of importance to at least one member of the National Academy of Sciences.

Public policy can directly affect the funding of capital equipment, intellectual infrastructure for industrial research, by providing tax incentives to those organizations who fund research. Vannevar Bush, director of the office of scientific research and development for the U.S. government in July 1945, wrote "Science is a proper concern of government" [6] Vannevar Bush directed the forerunner of the National Science Foundation, and his writings directly inspired researchers to invent the hyperlink and the computer mouse. The DARPA initiative to support computing was the impetus for the Internet Protocol stack. In the same way that scientific consortiums like CERN for high-energy physics have a commitment to public knowledge, access to this public knowledge in physics led directly to CERN's sponsorship of development of the World Wide Web and standard Internet access for all.

Philosophies of science policy

Basic versus applied research

The programs that are funded are often divided into four basic categories: basic research, applied research, development, and facilities and equipment. [7] [ not verified in body ] Translational research is a newer concept that seeks to bridge the gap between basic science and practical applications.

Basic science attempts to stimulate breakthroughs. Breakthroughs often lead to an explosion of new technologies and approaches. Once the basic result is developed, it is widely published; however conversion into a practical product is left for the free market. However, many governments have developed risk-taking research and development organizations to take basic theoretical research over the edge into practical engineering. In the U.S., this function is performed by DARPA. [8]

In contrast, technology development is a policy in which engineering, the application of science, is supported rather than basic science. [9] The emphasis is usually given to projects that increase important strategic or commercial engineering knowledge.[ citation needed ] The most extreme[ dubious ] success story is undoubtedly the Manhattan Project that developed nuclear weapons. Another remarkable success story was the "X-vehicle" studies that gave the US a lasting lead in aerospace technologies. [10]

These exemplify two disparate approaches: The Manhattan Project was huge, and spent freely on the most risky alternative approaches. The project members believed that failure would result in their enslavement or destruction by Nazi Germany. Each X-project built an aircraft whose only purpose was to develop a particular technology. The plan was to build a few cheap aircraft of each type, fly a test series, often to the destruction of an aircraft, and never design an aircraft for a practical mission. The only mission was technology development. [11]

A number of high-profile technology developments have failed. The US Space Shuttle failed to meet its cost or flight schedule goals. Most observers explain the project as over constrained: the cost goals too aggressive, the technology and mission too underpowered and undefined.

The Japanese fifth generation computer systems project met every technological goal, but failed to produce commercially important artificial intelligence. Many observers[ who? ] believe that the Japanese tried to force engineering beyond available science by brute investment. Half the amount spent on basic research rather might have produced ten times the result.[ citation needed ]

Utilitarian versus monumental science policy

Utilitarian policies prioritize scientific projects that significantly reduce suffering for larger numbers of people. This approach would mainly consider the numbers of people that can be helped by a research policy. Research is more likely to be supported when it costs less and has greater benefits. Utilitarian research often pursues incremental improvements rather than dramatic advancements in knowledge, or break-through solutions, which are more commercially viable.

In contrast, monumental science is a policy in which science is supported for the sake of a greater understanding of the universe, rather than for specific short-term practical goals. This designation covers both large projects, often with large facilities, and smaller research that does not have obvious practical applications and are often overlooked. While these projects may not always have obvious practical outcomes, they provide education of future scientists, and advancement of scientific knowledge of lasting worth about the basic building blocks of science. [12]

Practical outcomes do result from many of these "monumental" science programs. Sometimes these practical outcomes are foreseeable and sometimes they are not. A classic example of a monumental science program focused towards a practical outcome is the Manhattan project. An example of a monumental science program that produces unexpected practical outcome is the laser. Coherent light, the principle behind lasing, was first predicted by Einstein in 1916, but not created until 1954 by Charles H. Townes with the maser. The breakthrough with the maser led to the creation of the laser in 1960 by Theodore Maiman. The delay between the theory of coherent light and the production of the laser was partially due to the assumption that it would be of no practical use. [13]

Scholastic conservation

This policy approach prioritizes efficiently teaching all available science to those who can use it, rather than investing in new science. In particular, the goal is not to lose any existing knowledge, and to find new practical ways to apply the available knowledge. The classic success stories of this method occurred in the 19th century U.S. land-grant universities, which established a strong tradition of research in practical agricultural and engineering methods. More recently, the Green Revolution prevented mass famine over the last thirty years. The focus, unsurprisingly, is usually on developing a robust curriculum and inexpensive practical methods to meet local needs.

By country

Most developed countries usually have a specific national body overseeing national science (including technology and innovation) policy. Many developing countries follow the same fashion. Many governments of developed countries provide considerable funds (primarily to universities) for scientific research (in fields such as physics and geology) as well as social science research (in fields such as economics and history). Much of this is not intended to provide concrete results that may be commercialisable, although research in scientific fields may lead to results that have such potential. Most university research is aimed at gaining publication in peer reviewed academic journals. [14]

A funding body is an organisation that provides research funding in the form of research grants or scholarships. Research councils are funding bodies that are government-funded agencies engaged in the support of research in different disciplines and postgraduate funding. Funding from research councils is typically competitive. As a general rule, more funding is available in science and engineering disciplines than in the arts and social sciences. [15]

Australia

In Australia, the two main research councils are the Australian Research Council and the National Health and Medical Research Council.

Canada

In Canada, the three main research councils ("Tri-Council") are the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). Additional research funding agencies include the Canada Foundation for Innovation, Genome Canada, Sustainable Development Technology Canada, Mitacs and several Tri-Council supported Networks of Centres of Excellence. [16]

Brazil

In Brazil, two important research agencies are the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq, Portuguese: Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico), an organization of the Brazilian federal government under the Ministry of Science and Technology, and São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP, Portuguese: Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo), a public foundation located in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. [17]

European Union

The science policy of the European Union is carried out through the European Research Area, a system which integrates the scientific resources of member nations and acts as a "common market" for research and innovation. The European Union's executive body, the European Commission, has a Directorate-General for Research, which is responsible for the Union's science policy. In addition, the Joint Research Centre provides independent scientific and technical advice to the European Commission and Member States of the European Union (EU) in support of EU policies. [18] There is also the recently established European Research Council, the first European Union funding body set up to support investigator-driven research.

There are also European science agencies that operate independently of the European Union, such as the European Science Foundation, European Space Agency, and the European Higher Education Area, created by the Bologna process.

The European environmental research and innovation policy addresses global challenges of pivotal importance for the well-being of European citizens within the context of sustainable development and environmental protection. Research and innovation in Europe is financially supported by the programme Horizon 2020, which is also open to participation worldwide. [19]

Germany

German research funding agencies include the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, which covers both science and humanities.

India

Research funding by the Government of India comes from a number of sources. For basic science and technology research, these include the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Department of Science and Technology (DST), and University Grants Commission (UGC). For medical research, these include the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR), CSIR, DST and Department of Biotechnology (DBT). For applied research, these include the CSIR, DBT and Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC).

Other funding authorities are the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO), the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the Department of Ocean Development (DOD), the Indian Council for Social Science Research (ICSSR), and the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MEF) etc. [20]

Ireland

Irish funding councils include the Irish Research Council (IRC) and the Science Foundation Ireland. The prior Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technology (IRCSET) and the Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences (IRCHSS) were merged to form the IRC in March 2012. [21]

The Netherlands

Dutch research funding agencies include Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO) and Agentschap NL . In 2016, the Netherlands began trials for Self-Organized Funding Allocation (SOFA), a novel method of distributing research funds which proponents believe may have advantages compared to the grant system. [22] [23]

Pakistan

The Government of Pakistan has mandated that a certain percentage of gross revenue generated by all telecom service providers be allocated to development and research of information and communication technologies. The National ICT R&D Fund was established in January 2007.

Russia

Under the Soviet Union, much research was routinely suppressed. Now science in Russia is supported by state and private funds. From the state: the Russian Humanitarian Scientific Foundation (http://www.rfh.ru), the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (www.rfbr.ru), the Russian Science Foundation (http://rscf.ru)

Switzerland

Swiss research funding agencies include the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), the innovation promotion agency CTI (CTI/KTI), Ressortforschung des Bundes , and Eidgenössische Stiftungsaufsicht .

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, the Haldane principle, that decisions about what to spend research funds on should be made by researchers rather than politicians, is still influential in research policy. There are several university departments with a focus on science policy, such as the Science Policy Research Unit. There are seven grant-awarding Research Councils:

United States

The United States has a long history of government support for science and technology. Science policy in the United States is the responsibility of many organizations throughout the federal government. Much of the large-scale policy is made through the legislative budget process of enacting the yearly federal budget. Further decisions are made by the various federal agencies which spend the funds allocated by Congress, either on in-house research or by granting funds to outside organizations and researchers.

Research funding agencies in the United States are spread among many different departments, which include:

See also

Further reading

Books

Science the Endless Frontier. [24]

Pasteur's Quadrant: Basic Science and Technological Innovation [25]

Beyond Sputnik: U.S. Science Policy in the 21st Century [26]

The Honest Broker: Making Sense of Science in Policy and Politics [27]

How Economics Shapes Science [28]

Frontiers Of Illusion: Science, Technology, and the Politics of Progress [29]

Science Policy Up Close [30]

Dangerous Science: Science Policy and Risk Analysis for Scientists and Engineers [31]

Journals

Issues in Science and Technology [32]

Science and Public Policy [33]

Research Policy [34]

Journal of Science Policy and Governance [35]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vannevar Bush</span> American electrical engineer and science administrator (1890–1974)

Vannevar Bush was an American engineer, inventor and science administrator, who during World War II headed the U.S. Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD), through which almost all wartime military R&D was carried out, including important developments in radar and the initiation and early administration of the Manhattan Project. He emphasized the importance of scientific research to national security and economic well-being, and was chiefly responsible for the movement that led to the creation of the National Science Foundation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Science Foundation</span> United States government agency

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health. With an annual budget of about $9.9 billion, the NSF funds approximately 25% of all federally supported basic research conducted by the United States' colleges and universities. In some fields, such as mathematics, computer science, economics, and the social sciences, the NSF is the major source of federal backing.

Technology transfer (TT), also called transfer of technology (TOT), is the process of transferring (disseminating) technology from the person or organization that owns or holds it to another person or organization, in an attempt to transform inventions and scientific outcomes into new products and services that benefit society. Technology transfer is closely related to knowledge transfer.

Forfás was the national policy advisory board for enterprise, trade, science, technology and innovation in Ireland. The agency was established in January 1994 under the Industrial Development Act, 1993 and was run by a board appointed by the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, to whom the agency was responsible. Forfás was dissolved on 1 August 2014 and its functions were transferred to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Enterprise Ireland, the Industrial Development Authority and the Health and Safety Authority.

Research funding is a term generally covering any funding for scientific research, in the areas of natural science, technology, and social science. Different methods can be used to disburse funding, but the term often connotes funding obtained through a competitive process, in which potential research projects are evaluated and only the most promising receive funding. It is often measured via Gross domestic expenditure on R&D (GERD).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Science Foundation Ireland</span> Statutory research funding body

Science Foundation Ireland is the statutory body in Ireland with responsibility for funding oriented basic and applied research in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) with a strategic focus. The agency was established in 2003 under the Industrial Development Act 2003 and is run by a board appointed by the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. SFI is an agency of the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grant (money)</span> Non-repayable funds disbursed by one party to a recipient

A grant is a fund given by a person or organization, often a public body, charitable foundation, a specialised grant-making institution, or in some cases a business with a corporate social responsibility mission, to an individual or another entity, usually, a non-profit organisation, sometimes a business or a local government body, for a specific purpose linked to public benefit. Unlike loans, grants are not intended to be paid back. Examples include student grants, research grants, the Sovereign Grant paid by the UK Treasury to the monarch, and some European Regional Development Fund payments in the European Union.

Grand Challenges are difficult but important problems set by various institutions or professions to encourage solutions or advocate for the application of government or philanthropic funds especially in the most highly developed economies and

... energize not only the scientific and engineering community, but also students, journalists, the public, and their elected representatives, to develop a sense of the possibilities, an appreciation of the risks, and an urgent commitment to accelerate progress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Research Foundation (South Africa)</span> Intermediary agency between the Government of South Africa and South Africas research institutions

South Africa’s National Research Foundation (NRF) is the intermediary agency between the policies and strategies of the Government of South Africa and South Africa's research institutions.

Through history, the systems of economic support for scientists and their work have been important determinants of the character and pace of scientific research. The ancient foundations of the sciences were driven by practical and religious concerns and or the pursuit of philosophy more generally. From the Middle Ages until the Age of Enlightenment, scholars sought various forms of noble and religious patronage or funded their own work through medical practice. In the 18th and 19th centuries, many disciplines began to professionalize, and both government-sponsored "prizes" and the first research professorships at universities drove scientific investigation. In the 20th century, a variety of sources, including government organizations, military funding, patent profits, corporate sponsorship, and private philanthropies, have shaped scientific research.

The United States National Academy of Sciences' Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy (STEP) is a board of the United States National Academy of Sciences.

The America COMPETES Act was authored by Bart Gordon and signed into law on August 9, 2007, by President George W. Bush. The act aimed to invest in innovation through research and development and improve the competitiveness of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Science policy of the United States</span> Government support and limits of scientific research

The science policy of the United States is the responsibility of many organizations throughout the federal government. Much of the large-scale policy is made through the legislative budget process of enacting the yearly federal budget, although there are other legislative issues that directly involve science, such as energy policy, climate change, and stem cell research. Further decisions are made by the various federal agencies which spend the funds allocated by Congress, either on in-house research or by granting funds to outside organizations and researchers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Technology Agency of the Czech Republic</span>

The Technology Agency of the Czech Republic(TA CR) (Czech: Technologická agentura České republiky) is a Czech government agency, founded in 2009 to enhance and encourage cooperation between research organizations supported by the state and the business sector. Within its programmes, projects of applied research, experimental development and innovations are elected and financed.

Science and technology is Jordan's growing economic sector. This growth is occurring across multiple industries, including information and communications technology (ICT), solar and wind energy and nuclear technology.

The Czech Science Foundation (GACR) was established in 1993 as an independent public organisation supporting basic research in the Czech Republic. On the basis of calls for proposals and a public competition, the Czech Science Foundation provides financial support for both experienced and young and early-stage researchers. It also funds international projects on a bilateral basis in cooperation with several partner agencies as well as projects carried out within international research programmes. It is one of two major government-supported research funding agencies in the Czech Republic, the other being the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic (TAČR).

Science and technology in Armenia describes trends and developments in science, technology and innovation policy and governance in Armenia.

Science and technology in Kazakhstan – government policies to develop science, technology and innovation in Kazakhstan.

Science and technology in Uganda examine government efforts to develop a national innovation system and the impact of these policies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russian Foundation for Basic Research</span>

Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR) is a national science funding body of the Russian government created on 27 April 1992 by a decree of the President of Russia.

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