TPAC - Technology Policy and Assessment Center at the Georgia Institute of Technology

Workshop Goals and Dates

The goal 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 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.

Workshop recommendations will be published in a workshop 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.

The workshop will be held July 13-14, 2006 and would include 20-25 participants from sociology, science and technology studies, science policy studies, and related disciplines.