| Speaker | Prof. James Wilsdon Executive Director, Research on Research Institute (RoRI) Professor of Research Policy, Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy (STEaPP), University College London |
|---|---|
| Time | 16:30-18:00, Oct 9th Wed, 2024 (Doors open at 16:00) |
| Venue | Venue: 4th Floor, Room 4A, GRIPS 7-22-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo (Access ) |
| Sponsor | GRIPS Innovation, Science and Technology Policy Program (GIST) GRIPS科学技術イノベーション政策プログラム |
| Language | English (No Interpreter) |
| Fee | Fee: Free (Pre-registration required) |
Outline:
Since 2000, global investment in R&D has risen to over US $2.5 trillion a year. This has been accompanied by heightened aspirations and sharper accountabilities for the R&D system. And it has spurred an expansion of research on research--also known as meta-research, metascience or the science of science--which has grown in volume and visibility. Such work aims to better understand research systems; to ensure that R&D resources are invested strategically; and to underpin improvements to the ways that outcomes are disseminated, measured and evaluated.
These agendas are not new: metascience builds on a rich history of research into R&D systems. But there is also a growing cadre of researchers deploying new tools and data-driven methodologies to investigate the scientific process. And several governments have launched new programs for metascience, including:
-UK, where the government has established an in-house Metascience Unit and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has set up a metascience grants scheme.
-Canada, which will soon launch a new cross-agency funding call for meta-research;
-Norway which recently ran an expanded call for "research on research & innovation policy";
-Germany, where the Volkswagen Foundation has a programme for "Researching Research";
-USA, where the NSF is running its "Science of Science" funding program and working with others to experiment with new methods;
-China, where a recent Shanghai Declaration for the Science of Science called for more investment in these fields;
-Ireland, where there is a drive to embed metascience in the new combined funding agency, Research Ireland.
New approaches are being trialled; and new institutions are being created. One such initiative is the Research on Research Institute (RoRI), founded in 2019, with a mission to accelerate transformative research on research systems, cultures and decision-making.
In this talk, RoRI's James Wilsdon will explore the changing landscape for metascience. He will argue that metascience is less a discipline, and more an orientation or mode of engaging with questions that most researchers encounter at some point in the networks and institutions they inhabit. Finally, he will ask what insights metascience might bring to R&D policies in Japan, and what strategic intelligence the Japanese system could offer to the advance of metascience globally.
