PI: Susan E. Cozzens Georgia Institute of Technology
The workshop will explore the social science foundations of science policy in the context of today's complex, global, and technologically mediated society. Understanding the fundamental social processes involved in the structure and organization of science policy are crucial for maximizing the ability of science policy to enhance scientific development and innovation. In order to fully understand the formulation, acceptance, dissemination, and impacts of science policy, it is important to understand its social organization and the political, economic, and sociological context within which science policy and science succeed or flounder. Workshop participants will examine areas of convergence across arenas of inquiry, identify gaps in research and knowledge, and specify the most promising issues and areas most ripe for systematic and rigorous inquiry. The workshop will examine the relations among the social organization of science, policy knowledge networks and innovation and productivity. The workshop will also explore existing theories, methods and measures to determine which require further development or testing. Finally the workshop will discuss the critical next steps regarding research funding, development of data resources, and education and training.
Broader Impacts. The objective of the workshop is to identify crucial research questions through dialogue among an interdisciplinary group of scholars from the social sciences that are working on aspects of science policy. Workshop recommendations will be published in a report and also posted on the web. It is envisioned that the workshop and workshop report will stimulate new research proposals to examine the social aspects of science policy and the development of science within the context of a highly dynamic, complex, technologically mediated society.
