TPACTechnology Policy and Assessment Center
 
 

NSF Workshop on Social Organization of Science and Science Policy

Topics

The workshop agenda would include the following topics among others:

  1. Current social science contributions to science policy

    There is considerable research and knowledge across the social sciences about science production, science policy, and science metrics. What are the areas of convergence and fragmentation across these areas of inquiry? Where are the gaps and how can we create connections among these disparate understandings? What factors promote or impede knowledge production, sharing and development? How do different political, organizational, cultural, economic and historical arrangements affect science production, dissemination and communication?

  2. Cultures, structures and networks of knowledge production in the generation of science policy

    How do different resource, social and information contexts affect the development and implementation of science policy? What organizational factors promote or impede interdisciplinarity? Are there structural barriers? What organizational factors enhance or inhibit trust, shared meanings, and opportunity among scientists across disciplines? What roles do competition versus collaboration play? Might there be an optimal combination?

  3. Social processes and the generation of data: elements, categories and indicators

    What are some of the different ways in which we produce, share and disseminate knowledge and data? What are some of the ethical challenges of these relationships?