Science of Science and Innovation Policy: Principal Investigator Conference, 2007-2011 Awards

National Academy Of Sciences, Washington DC

Investigators

Abstract

In 2006, U.S. Science Adviser John H. Marburger, III called for a multidisciplinary approach to creating a solid evidentiary platform for science policy at national and sub-national levels, as well as the emergence of a field of science policy studies. Science and innovation policy practitioners have long had a keen interest in obtaining quantitative data and qualitative information that they could use to deliver more effective policy decisions. Researchers in several disciplines -- including chemistry, computer science, economics, engineering, political science, sociology, physicists, psychology, and visual analytics -- have for decades sought to push the boundaries of understanding various elements of the global ecological system of innovation. Heeding Dr. Marburger's call and heightened interests of practitioners and researchers, the National Science Foundation initiated the Science of Science and Innovation Policy program (SciSIP) to encourage basic research and to further the development of a community of practice in this field. Since the first awards were made in 2007, the SciSIP program has funded more than 150 researchers and their graduate students. The program has also spawned the STAR METRICS (Science and Technology for America's Reinvestment: Measuring the Effect of Research on Innovation, Competitiveness and Science) program, a collaborative effort between the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. The STAR METRICS program develops tools and mechanisms by which federal expenditures on scientific activities can be measured, with particular focus on quantifying productivity and employment outcomes. The fifth year of the SciSIP program, therefore, is a critical milestone and an opportune time to showcase its research productivity and contributions to many long-standing questions regarding investment in and organization of science, engineering and innovation activities in the U.S. and in other nations. In keeping with the goals of the SciSIP program, the National Academy of Sciences convenes a two-day public conference to foster intellectual exchange among funded researchers and between these researchers and science, technology and innovation policy practitioners. The conference is intended to be the largest gathering of SciSIP principal investigators since the program's inception. The SciSIP principal investigators conference features invited presentations and discussions, as well as poster sessions. Topics highlight advances in the emerging field of the science of science and innovation policy. In particular, models, frameworks, tools, and datasets comprising the evidentiary basis for science and innovation policy are the focus of the event, and presentations by SciSIP researchers fall under several themes, including: return on investment models; organizational structures that foster accelerated scientific productivity; linkages between commercialized scientific knowledge and job creation; the roles of universities and government in technology transfer and innovation; technology diffusion and economic growth; non-economic impacts of science and innovation expenditures; regional and global networks of knowledge generation and innovation; mechanisms for encouraging creativity and measuring outputs and outcomes from transformative research; and development, manipulation and visualization of data representing scientific activities. In addition to discussions and collaborations among the SciSIP researchers, an important benefit to the research community stems from discussions between researchers and leading practitioners. This network of scientists and practitioners constitutes a fruitful Petri dish that spawns exciting new scientific explorations in the SciSIP field. The National Academies prepares a summary report of the conference's presentations, roundtable discussions, and specific recommendations for future research and data-gathering, manipulation and visualization activities. Select papers are included in the appendix of the report. The report contains a glossary of published papers and reports in the SciSIP field, as well as links to archival datasets that were sponsored by the SciSIP program. This report constitutes a compendium of leading-edge research in this emerging field. Broader Impacts: The conference facilitates interdisciplinary discourse between researchers in several fields. It also fosters communication and learning between academicians and policymakers. This activity advances the development of the SciSIP community of practice. The summary report is also a useful guide to data and tools that practitioners may utilize in day-to-day policy decision-making activities. The conference is also a rich venue for graduate students who are writing dissertations in this field.