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Recent emerging technology policies seek to diminish negative impacts while equitably and responsibly accruing and distributing benefits. Social scientists play a role in these policies, but relatively little quantitative research has been undertaken to study how social scientists inform the assessment of emerging technologies. This paper addresses this gap by examining social science research on 'Big Data', an emerging technology of wide interest. This paper analyzes a dataset of fields extracted from 488 social science and humanities papers written about Big Data. Our focus is on understanding the multi-dimensional nature of societal assessment by examining the references upon which these papers draw. We find that eight sub-literatures are important in framing social science research about Big Data. These results indicate that the field is evolving from general sociological considerations toward applications issues and privacy concerns. Implications for science policy and technology assessment of societal implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a special section of Science and Public Policy on science in society in Europe. Based on extensive data collected for the Monitoring Policy and Research Activities on Science in Society in Europe (MASIS) project, contributions to this special section explore pertinent issues related to the location, role and responsibility of science across EU member states and associated countries. By developing analytical typologies and classifying countries, the collection of papers provides a novel and detailed picture of Europe. It reveals considerable variation regarding the interactions of science and society at the national level, and it offers a platform for international learning. The identification of patterns and trends concerning the place of science in society may also feed into emerging European discussions about 'responsible research and innovation'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gender disparities in science remain, despite decades of policies aimed at achieving gender parity. Yet, little is known about the macro-level factors affecting such disparities. This paper examines the degree to which country-level human development indicators (HDI) and gender inequality indicators (GII) gathered by the United Nations Development Report can reveal systemic gender inequalities in scholarship. Countries 'low' in HDI and GII had the lowest contribution of female participation in science and highest degree of international collaboration. Research from highly developed countries was more cited, although gender disparities remained. For HDI, gross national income was a strong predictor of scientific output and impact (and, to a lesser degree, collaboration). The rate of women in the labor force was the strongest predictive variable in GII, explaining differences in output, collaboration, and impact. However, predictive variables differed by HDI/GII quartile, suggesting that monolithic policies may not be appropriate for addressing gender disparities in science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the major organizations that mediate interactions between the scientific community and climate change policy-making in Switzerland. Based on seven case studies that analyze the effectiveness of policy recommendations issued by the Advisory Body on Climate Change Research and Policy, the paper demonstrates the practical insights that can be gained by applying boundary organization and advocacy coalition framework theory to the design of such institutions. Better integration of the social and management sciences could improve the ability of the Advisory Body on Climate Change Research and Policy to perform hybrid management functions essential to integrate science more effectively into decision-making processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines how the resources of the Line of Business (LB) Program of the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) leveraged academic research to develop understanding of science and technology policy and to point to new directions for both research and policy. The paper provides an overview and discussion of the birth and death of the FTC LB Program and its unique LB data, the innovation research using the LB data, and the legacy of the program. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

How can a developing country narrow its science and innovation gap with leading countries? The Knowledge Innovation Program (KIP) in the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) is a giant program for this purpose in China. This article investigates the scientific input and output of CAS since KIP started to be implemented ten years ago. Based on quantitative analysis, we can conclude from the results that KIP is a powerful policy tool for CAS to recruit talent, restructure CAS institutes, extend the researcher pool and introduce merit-based criteria. This has led CAS to narrow the science gap with leading countries; however, the innovation gap has still not been narrowed much. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Citizen deliberations cannot be entirely isolated from their wider social, political and cultural context. The fact that particular deliberative mechanisms are based on sound theories does not mean that they will necessarily produce sound results in specific instances. Similarly, the fact that such mechanisms have been found to work well in practice in one social environment does not mean they will necessarily work equally well in another. Using a recent deliberation initiative in Japan, this paper addresses this important issue. It explores how the process of the Japanese consensus conference on genetically modified crops in 2000 was influenced by Japan's sociopolitical environment and how its outcomes challenged the established understanding of the policymaking process. The paper argues that the transfer of a particular policy process from one culture to another can result in a conflict of values between the process and its new social environment [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper displays a list of the typical activities that academics involved in Iranian science and technology policy undertake in a day. Since the research and its environment is embedded in the society and interacts strongly with policy-makers, and is not in some isolated laboratories, this paper communicates information about the social, political and scientific conditions in that country. There are many detailed rules and regulations governing academic life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is often argued that the unintended consequences of science policy transformation over the last 50 years--increased role of fixed-term project funding, evaluation and temporary contracts--are short-termism, fragmentation and limited freedom to choose research topics and collaborators. This paper focuses on a phenomenon that should be highly unlikely in this context: long-term international research collaborations lasting over 10 and 20 years which remain creative and productive. To shed light on the little studied topic of why and how long-term international research collaborations evolve, the paper develops a mid-range theory from multiple longitudinal case studies. It suggests that long-term collaborations combining formal and informal interactions operate as virtuous circles whereas earlier results ensure feedback loops and thematic and organisational continuity, but renewal is crucial. The emergent theory is built from multiple data sources and methods analysing international collaborations in the emerging field of nanosciences in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to contribute to a better understanding of the complex dynamics that shape the contribution of research to policy and innovation processes that address ‘competing claims’ on natural resources and their management. Research in the context of competing claims requires strategies that: (1) can cope with high uncertainty and unpredictability; (2) are concerned with understanding the multiple dimensions of the issue at stake; (3) can facilitate change across different scales and levels; (4) include collaboration with different actors and stakeholders; and (5) may imply new roles for research and researchers. This paper reviews and builds upon research approaches to address these challenges. These research approaches are combined in a framework for dynamic research configurations that aims to stimulate reflection among researchers and to promote more embedded, context-sensitive and flexible research strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current financial crisis has important consequences for small national research systems of the European periphery, where in some cases it leads to reform and significant downsizing of public R&D efforts. This paper develops a normative theoretical framework for guiding decisions concerning reform of R&D systems in periods of financial crises. The aim is to provide guidance for the reform of Greek R&D system and lessons for other national R&D systems faced with financial crises. Contrary to what is generally regarded as ‘perceived wisdom’, this paper argues that periods of crisis are not suitable for major reforms of R&D systems, even though they may seem to provide political opportunities for reform. Crises exacerbate the costs of R&D reforms and restrict the potential for benefits. Crises, as the discussion of the case of Greece shows, can undermine the trust between the government and the research community, generating important barriers to reform. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper explores the role of intermediary organisations in the development of the ‘bioeconomy’. Focusing on the strategies employed by UK funding agencies to coordinate research in the emerging field of synthetic biology, I explore the spatiality of contemporary science and research policy and the practices engaged by research support bodies. While forms of territorial coordination have constituted a crucial strategy in the promotion of biotechnological clusters, regions and cities, a range of ‘geographical imaginations’ have dominated political and policy discourse on the bioeconomy and institutional responses to the emergence of synthetic biology. Developing a notion of the reflexive creation of hybrid forums, drawn from Callon et al. (2002), in this paper I develop an alternative concept of the performative enactment of interactive spatialities. I argue that in coordinating research in synthetic biology intermediary institutions are engaged in the active composition and management of new networks of actors and institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growing beyond the catch-up model of imitative innovations, Korea has considerably expanded its national R&D budget since the 1990s. However, the rapid expansion brought about a decentralization of the national R&D programs by competing ministries, thus raising significant concerns about inter-ministerial duplication and overlap. Ratified in 2001, the Framework Act on Science and Technology (FAST) instituted a central coordination mechanism for national R&D programs. Adopting the ‘institutional system’ perspective, this paper examines the role of the FAST in coordinating and integrating national R&D programs. This paper emphasizes the significance of the integrity and interconnectivity of institutional components, including the National Science and Technology Council, national R&D planning, and performance evaluation. It also highlights the importance of an organizational body with the requisite capabilities for effective operation of legal institutions as well as the significant effects of informal institutions in bureaucracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, we investigate empirically the economic implications of increasing the threshold funding limits on Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) awards. Specifically, we estimate the impact of an increase in an SBIR Phase II research award amount on the likelihood that the funded project will reach technical completion, that is, it will not be discontinued early or fail. Although an increase in the threshold amount of Phase II awards was mandated by the Act of 1992, and although a recent SBIR policy directive allows such, the economic implications of an increase have yet to be considered in any systematic manner. Second, we offer a call for a further evaluation of the SBIR program, and more broadly a prospective evaluation of public-private partnership science and technology programs, along the lines of an investigation of the determinants of milestone successes and failures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alongside theories of innovation, different measures of innovativeness and innovative capability have been developed. However, there are problems with the existing evaluation tools, especially when considering the dynamics of innovation processes. The measurement of the innovativeness of regions is particularly challenging. This paper describes recent changes in regional innovation policy models. It is argued that these policy models demand new tools for evaluating regional innovative capability. This paper tries to overcome some of the problems of the current evaluation tools. It outlines a framework for the network-based innovative capability evaluation matrix for evaluating and developing regional innovation policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the increase in internationalisation of science is well documented, there is less literature that explicitly addresses the driving forces behind this trend. In this paper we investigate the relationship between science policy and the growth of international scientific collaboration. We look into whether overall globalisation trends can explain changes in internationalisation, or whether such changes may be better understood as consequences of organised political efforts within the area of science and research policy. We also focus on the relationship between international collaboration and foreign funding, because the share of research funding coming from foreign sources has risen in most countries. The intention of the present paper is to focus on this issue using Norway as a case study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores qualitative research that aimed to understand how scientists encounter the science-policy boundary in the ordinary course of doing their research. In interviews, scientists sometimes referred to institutions whose role it is to stabilize the relationship between science and policy - boundary organizations as Guston (1999) has called them. Individual scientists, however, often engage in their own versions of 'boundary work' between science and policy. The paper suggests that it may be useful to explore the implications of this more individualized, less institutionalized boundary work to understand better the shifting identity of contemporary science [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the scientific/advisory discourse about mobile phone risk that was prevalent in the late 1990s. It argues that advisory responses to public concern constituted a ‘discourse of compliance’, which was strengthened by implicit support from the mobile phone industry. This discourse used compliance with advisory guidelines as the endpoint for discussions with the public. Evidence from non-experts and concerns about the basis of the guidelines were rejected. This discourse acted as a barrier to expert engagement with the public and with the broader context of uncertainties about the safety of mobile phones. The paper explains how this style of scientific advice was exposed as fragile, despite its claims to represent only the best available science, which, it was claimed, was well-understood and consensual. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the formation and expansion of a new organizational field in experimental science: synchrotron radiation laboratories. These labs were once peripheral servants of some specialisms of solid-state physics, but over the 40 years studied they have grown into a worldwide generic resource for tens of thousands of users in a broad spectrum of disciplines. The paper uses insights primarily from historical institutionalism, but also neo-institutional theory, to analyze the formation and expansion of the organizational field of synchrotron radiation laboratories, and thus contributes to the analysis of the rather dramatic growth of this tool for experimental science from a small-scale lab curiosity to a generic research technology. But the key contribution of the paper is to provide insights into multi-level and multi-dimensional change in science systems by analyzing the emergence and expansion of a new organizational field in experimental science, which has implications not least for science policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the effect of international research visits on promotion. Research visits may help to expand existing networks and promote knowledge transfer while at the same time ensuring career stability, identified as the main barrier to mobility in Europe and Japan. Using a dataset of 370 bioscience professors in Japan we find that international research visits have a positive effect on promotion and reduce the waiting time for promotion by one year. This provides evidence that these visits also benefit a researcher's career in the long-term. This positive research visit effect is weaker for academics who also change jobs, but stronger for inbred academics. Research visits may therefore be of specific importance for otherwise immobile academics. Further, we find that while research visits of tenured staff enhance the career by providing an early chair, postdoctoral fellowships have no lasting effect on career progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses public support and argues that supply does not match demand in terms of the support needs of different types of new technology-based firms (NTBFs). The demand side of public support to NTBFs is analysed by developing a typology of NTBFs, based on venture origin and degree of innovativeness. Each type's characteristics, challenges and support needs are identified. The supply side is analysed in terms of the goals, instruments and level of aggregation of the two main policy areas that provide support for NTBFs: small and medium-sized enterprise policy and science, technology and innovation policy. Finally, the demand and supply sides are compared and three main shortcomings of existing public support to NTBFs are identified. This paper makes a twofold contribution: first, the typology gives guidelines for policy-makers with respect to the support needs of the NTBFs. Second, it identifies shortcomings in existing public support and recommends improvements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nature of public participation in EU research governance is an under-explored area. Assumptions that governance arrangements enable direct participation of 'the public' are identified in the academic literature on science communication. This paper considers the extent to which such assumptions can be supported. It presents findings from a preliminary investigation into the discursive construction of the 'scientific citizen' in selected official texts of the EU in the context of the development of the European Research Area, focusing on new research infrastructures with the legal status of a European Research Infrastructure Consortium. Specific modes of participation are identified: as assessors of the accountability of decision-makers; as recipients and beneficiaries of scientists' knowledge-based decisions; and as participants in the scientific process via open access arrangements. The participation of the 'scientific citizen' is constructed as linked but external to the decision-making processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Science Media Centre (SMC) is a new type of organisation at the science-media interface that acts like a press office and supports newsrooms. The first SMC was founded in 2002 in the UK, but, despite its supposed success, its impact on public debates has so far hardly been studied. Based on theoretical considerations and an interview study, this paper argues that the SMC can be understood as a public policy instrument to secure science's licence to practice. As a technical fix to the social problem of a 'crisis of public trust in science', the SMC acts as an emergency press office in science- and technology-intensive controversies. Its deficit model- informed communication policy is that the political is technical, the technical should be evidence-based and this evidence should come from scientific experts. The implications for public debates are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We explore new perspectives for analysing knowledge networks, arguing that knowledge networks can no longer be referred to as egalitarian, non-hierarchical, and neutral forms of social organization. Instead, networks reproduce tensions, asymmetries, and hierarchies linked to science, technology, and innovation policy incentives and incorporate dynamic and multi-situated nodes of power. This paper draws on evidence gathered from a case study on transnational and translocal knowledge networks in nanotechnology, which have central nodes at a public research center located in Chihuahua (Chihuahua) and its auxiliary branch in Monterrey (Nuevo Leon) in Northern Mexico. We propose that, in order to understand the production of asymmetries in knowledge networks, an incentive policy element must be added to the equation. The latter refer to monetary, symbolic, and material incentives stemming from all arenas where networks interact. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Strategic research consortia as policy instruments for research coordination have been on the rise for more than a decade. Despite their rising popularity as coordination structures, there has been little comparative analysis of the actual coordination approaches such consortia develop. In order to enhance our understanding of consortia as coordination structures, this paper makes a systematic and in-depth comparison of the coordination approaches of two Dutch consortia. The analysis shows that research consortia coordinate their activities in very different ways. A consortium’s coordination approach turns out to be strongly influenced by its internal characteristics. The observed influence of internal consortium characteristics implies that the eventual coordination approach of consortia will not always match the rationale behind a policy measure to support these consortia. We recommend policy-makers to foster strategic research consortia with a heterogeneous composition that have organised sufficient flexibility for reacting to unforeseen developments. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In 1972 the United States Congress established the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) as a small analytical agency to become better informed about implications of new and emerging technologies. OTA’s principal products—technology assessments—were designed to inform congressional deliberations and debates about issues that involved science and technology dimensions but without recommending specific policy actions. OTA's unique governance by a bicameral and bipartisan board of House and Senate Members helped ensure that issues the agency addressed were tightly aligned with the congressional agenda and that assessments were undertaken with partisan and other stakeholder bias minimized. For 23 years OTA completed reports on virtually all science and technology subject faced by the Congress until the agency's annual appropriation of funds to operate was eliminated in 1995 as one of a series of budget austerity measures. This paper recaps the OTA experience and recent efforts to fill the gap since OTA's closure. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper investigates the potential congruence between research and innovation intensity in a country and the role society plays in the adoption and dissemination of scientific results. Using descriptive reports it tries to quantify certain variables and finds a significant degree of coincidence between the two. This, however, does not indicate any causal relationship but suggests that a systematic exercise of this type is feasible and may lead to the creation of valuable time series that can form solid evidence for policy in the future and create an interesting database for further research and policy-making. Countries that rank higher in their 'science in society' performance compared to their innovation ranking may be used as models for imitation. Furthermore, the rating process indicated that there are significant differences between European member states but there is at least a minimum involvement in every country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to throw into relief some of the general features in the development of the history of science policy by drawing attention to the continuation and deepening of old issues in new forms within the current science policy regime. The paper presents a typology which distinguishes different ways in which policy attempts to 'account' for public funding of science by showing how science contributes to wealth and prosperity. The paper concludes that the new forms of accounting place the focus of attention on what is 'produced' in science and that science policy itself has become dominated by the logic of globalism and new public management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The systemic characteristics of science, technology and innovation policies have been much discussed recently. This paper presents innovation policy roadmapping (IPRM) as a methodological framework for linking R&D results to systemic policy contexts and to forward-looking policy design. The paper explores the methodological background of the IPRM method and outlines its policy rationale. It also illustrates IPRM with two case studies from Australia and Finland. The case studies reflect on how the policy perspectives can be constructed in a dynamic context of societal drivers, solution and market development, and enabling technologies. The paper concludes by assessing the policy implications of the IPRM approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The term 'national innovation systems' surfaced for the first time in print during the late 1980s and, in the years that followed, several important contributions on this topic appeared. This paper investigates the role that this new literature plays within innovation studies and the world of science more generally and discusses the sources for its emergence. With the help of expert assessments, the three most important contributions to the 'national innovation systems' literature are identified. Then the citations to these works in scholarly journals in the Web of Science are presented and the characteristics of the 'national innovation systems' literature, as compared with other areas of research, are analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the factors behind widespread policy failure to support science-industry linkages in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries. We explain this failure as being due largely to uncritical application of conventional policy wisdoms in the context of 'catching up' and 'laggard' economies. Our argument is based on evidence on knowledge-intensive enterprises in CEE and CIS countries and analysis of the innovation policies of these regions. Our conclusion is that support for science-industry linkages in CEE/CIS should be balanced by efforts to strengthen the 'actors' involved (existing large and small firms, universities and public research organizations) and reinforce other linkages in the respective national innovation systems, and especially knowledge links between domestic and foreign firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large-scale international scientific collaborations (ISCs) are one of several mechanisms that allow governments and businesses to tap into the global knowledge base. Participating in ISCs to access scientific knowledge from around the world is vital for a relatively small country like Canada to ensure success in building science and science-based capabilities and as a way to establish a respected reputation among nations. This paper explores the views of Canadian senior scientists and science managers from government laboratories on collaborations in large-scale ISCs with foreign countries and how Canada and its scientists are perceived on the international scientific scene. This knowledge is important as perceptions of a country's science capabilities and performance can affect international positioning for economic and science strength, ability to attract business investment, and even international political power. The results of the interviews lead to the conclusion that ISCs can be expected to deliver advantages, as reflected in the existing literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines ANet, the science/policy network, which was created through a Canadian research funding initiative embodying the new knowledge production regime. The network's goal was to develop policy-oriented research in genetics through collaboration between knowledge producers and users from Quebec and the provinces of Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. This four-year ethnographic case study shows that ANet succeeded in supporting transdisciplinarity and in creating a unique collaborative structure in which students and many researchers enthusiastically participated. However, ANet did not generate all of the research and user-friendly knowledge-based tools that were initially planned. The network's outcomes are discussed in the light of the current literature on transdisciplinarity and science policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public unease that stem cell research (SCR) may be proceeding somewhat unfettered raises issues about links between trust in and regulation of science/scientists, with wider relevance to a policy drive to (re)build public trust in science. This paper analyses three themes: different objects of trust in science (individuals, institutions and wider context); links between these objects of trust and potential roles for regulation in trust building; and trust building as a performative practice. The paper draws empirically on deliberations on trust and regulation in SCR at a UK public engagement event. Our findings demonstrate that dialogic encounters between scientists and wider publics can generate considerable openness and sophistication, with participants capable of deliberating on the multifaceted nature of 'trust' and grappling with complex and challenging issues. We reflect on the circumstances in which regulation might enhance public trust in science, on the possible role of public engagement in trust building, and on calls for greater institutional reflexivity by scientists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent debates in science and technology studies, as well as more practical approaches to science policy both at national and European level, have stressed the relevance of citizen participation in the field of science. This paper investigates what some of the key actors in this debate, civil society organisations, expect from participation. The paper presents two case studies of civil society participation in the field of novel biotechnologies in Germany and in Spain. Despite the differences between the experiences of participation in these two countries, our study shows that current institutional approaches, which are inspired by the 'democratisation of expertise' perspective and set up essentially at the 'downstream' level, seem less promising than 'upstream' models of participation, which, in contrast, appear more meaningful from a 'co-production of science' framing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Africa designed its post-Apartheid science and technology policies in the mould of the national innovation system approach. Yet policymakers knew little about the determinants of technological upgrading in latecomer firms either in the developing world more generally or in South Africa specifically. These two blind spots made for a veritable black box hiding the engines of innovation. Policy was designed around this black box and was thus largely and by necessity borrowed rather than learned. This paper describes why this is a problem and what can be done about it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the scientific landscape in Luxembourg, one of the smallest countries in Europe. Three themes are analysed: the professionalisation of research; diversification and cooperation between the actors; and the Luxembourg Foresight Exercise. The paper argues that in small countries cooperation and collaboration is not necessarily better than in larger countries. It further suggests that, compared to larger countries, small countries seem to share three characteristics: a less mature research infrastructure and science policy; a shorter distance between researchers and science policy; and a need to import expertise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The overall thrust of this paper is that policy learning is enhanced by the participation of private business. It is assumed that business involvement would suggest abundant opportunities for policy learning and transfer. The empirical part of this paper investigates private sector involvement in science, technology and innovation (STI) policy-making in a transition economy (Hungary). Private sector involvement in Hungarian STI policy-making is investigated in terms of the stages and types of involvement. The involvement of the private sector is essential for learning policy-making and achieving adaptability, which in turn is also crucial for the overall success of the innovation policy. This is particularly important for transition economies facing important reforms in a context of accelerated globalisation and international competition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Science, technology and innovation (STI) policy aimed at technological advance, international competitiveness and wealth creation underpins the regulation of publicly funded research. Familiar quantitative evaluative 'metrics' fit snugly with these economic objectives. A re-imagined STI policy embraces wider intellectual, social, cultural, environmental and economic returns, using qualitative measures and processes to capture research outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines how the South African national system of innovation (NSI) has evolved through the transition from apartheid to democracy. To provide structure to this analysis Kim's 1998 concept of the 'constructed crisis' in firms is applied at the level of the state. This schema is found to be useful given the complex forces shaping the young state. The origins of the NSI are examined along with emerging science and technology policy and data from the national surveys of research and development (R&D) and other sources. This allows for examination of trends over time, R&D organisational concentration and focus areas. As appropriate we suggest interpretations consistent with the constructed crisis model. While the NSI remained robust in the transition to democracy the human resources nexus jeopardises more rapid growth and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper highlights the need for Cyprus, a small peripheral European country, to become a knowledge-based economy, as a way to increase living standards in the long run. Key factors for a successful transition to the knowledge economy are improved education, appropriate funding for research and development (R&D) in basic and applied sciences, and, in particular, appropriate mechanisms of technology transfer, from the laboratories to the companies. The paper reviews the existing R&D infrastructure in Cyprus, with special emphasis on its links with industry. Overall, the evidence indicates that Cyprus is lagging behind in research–industry collaboration and is also suffering from a severe atrophy of its own research infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scientists often lament their lack of influence on environmental policy-making. Some proposed solutions, like teaching scientists to communicate more effectively, can be helpful, but are not necessarily sufficient. Instead, connecting science and policy may often require a separate kind of expert: full-time intermediaries who facilitate the complicated exchange of information among scientists, policy-makers, and other stakeholders. In this paper, we describe intermediary efforts by the Lenfest Ocean Program, a grant-making program that funds peer-reviewed research and connects scientists and decision-makers who can take action on an issue. We present case studies of intermediary work on three topics: first, sustainable methods of harvesting bull kelp in the US Pacific Northwest; second, the design of catch share programs in US fisheries; and third, management of forage fish. These case studies suggest that science-policy intermediaries can help scientists make meaningful contributions to public discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scientific policy advice, and research for such advice, involves making a broad set of choices, for instance on research strategy and on the presentation of results. The issue context approach offers guidelines for individual advisors and advisory bodies (and their designers) to deal with these decisions. It distinguishes types of problems and connects particular strategies to each type. The issue context approach is critically assessed in this paper. Can this approach be of help for responsible scientific advisors and for designers of advisory bodies? We conclude that, for empirical and logical reasons, the issue context approach cannot live up to its promise. This assessment helps to determine the limits of the ambitions of the public administration to make policy-making more scientific. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

US legislators prepare and make decisions on bills that involve science and technology (S&T) policy components, but they or their staff may not have sufficient expertise to do this. Therefore, it becomes critical that scientists and engineers from academia and industry spend time in Washington, DC to constructively engage in policy decisions. R&D investment helps drive economic growth. However, US R&D investment has been on the decline, whereas investment continues to increase in some emerging and developed economies. Scientists and engineers need to be champions for R&D investment to keep the USA competitive in the global market. This perspective paper discusses: what is S&T policy, who makes laws, the federal R&D budget and the importance of sustained R&D funding, how the USA compares with the rest of the world in R&D investment and numbers of science graduates. Finally, the author discusses his experiences as an S&T fellow in Washington, DC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Credibility, relevance and legitimacy are often cited as determinants of the effectiveness of interfaces between science and environmental policy and serve as criteria for their evaluation. However, these concepts are hazy and have a variety of meanings. In practice, the systematic evaluation of science-policy interfaces according to credibility, relevance and legitimacy is subject to a number of difficulties and is rarely done. In this paper we offer some clarification of these concepts and show how they influence the perception and evaluation of science-policy interfaces. Our findings reveal that, while the attributes of credibility, relevance and legitimacy are helpful when reflecting on the effectiveness of science-policy interfaces, they are difficult to apply as criteria when evaluating these interfaces. To apply these concepts in a meaningful way to the task of evaluation they need to be defined specifically for the particular context of the science-policy interface concerned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

'Basic research' is based on epistemological and intentional criteria. In terms of science policy, however, these criteria imply contradictory views on investment in 'basic research'. The former espouses the linear model of innovation and encourages policy-makers concerned with economic problems to expand investment on basic research. However, the latter can collide with the policy norm of policy-makers and discourage investment in 'basic research' in an institutional setting where the nation-state prevails over scientists, as in South Korea. Emphasizing policy ideas and policy learning, this paper empirically shows that changes in investment priority and the emergence of new concepts about 'basic research' are co-products of a policy paradigm of the linear model and a policy norm of industrial competitiveness in Korea. Specifically, emphasis was placed on the balance between pure and oriented basic research, but moved on to 'oriented basic research', 'basic engineering', and to 'basic research' coupled with 'woncheon-technology'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, many disciplines have dealt with the relationship between scientific research and policy-making, and many different models for science-policy interactions have been proposed. This paper aims to investigate the models of science-policy interaction implicitly or explicitly adopted by stakeholders, by means of a Delphi study performed with Italian researchers, politicians, doctors and journalists. The study was developed within the framework of the European project on Research into Policy to Enhance Physical Activity, which aimed to improve evidence-informed policy-making using the field of physical activity as the case study. Our results show the persistence of the traditional linear model and how it coexists with subsequent models in the same individual visions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores socio-political opportunities for and barriers to introducing technology assessment (TA) as a support for science and technology (S&T) policy-making in seven European countries, most of which lack any significant TA activities or institutions. The comparative analysis is based on interviews and workshops with relevant S&T actors in the countries explored as well as an analysis of documents. The study clearly shows that any attempt to promote and establish TA has to take account of the situations in the countries explored, which differ in many respects from the situation in the 1980s and 1990s when a first wave of TA institutionalisation took place at national parliaments in Europe. Elements of ‘civic epistemologies’ such as a lively public debate on S&T policies are missing in some of the countries explored and S&T policy-making is busy modernising the R&D system in order to keep up with global competition. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The governance of science is driven by the need to maintain public trust in conditions where scientific advance may challenge important societal values. As the traditional reliance on scientific expertise as a source of governance legitimacy has proved less efficacious, so new forms of governance have emerged, in particular public engagement and, most lately, bioethics. This paper explores the extent to which public bioethics is evolving its modus operandi in order to enhance its political utility and hence extend its governance territory. Using the case of human/animal chimeras, it shows how bioethics has begun to create governance problems to which it has the ethical and policy answers. In so doing, bioethics is evolving a new role where it actively promotes its own agenda through its construction of a specialist mediating function in the governance of science to complement its existing role of the passive interpretation of the agenda of others. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper argues in favor of four criteria for assessing the performance of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) within the Executive Office of the US President: trying to killing bad ideas (and sometimes succeeding), mobilizing expertise and confidence to support crisis response, identifying new issues and developing presidential policy initiatives, and catalyzing and coordinating multi-agency science and technology activities, especially in response to presidential goals. These criteria are illustrated with episodes from OSTP’s history. They place OSTP in a variety of roles, ranging from disinterested broker of expertise to policy entrepreneur, but always as an agent of the President. Although a full assessment using these criteria may not be feasible due to data limitations, their identification is nonetheless valuable in order to spark scholarly debate and further research and to support planning by OSTP staff and their interlocutors inside and outside of government. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]