The past three decades have witnessed a sharp reduction in the rate of growth of public research funding, and sometimes an actual decline in its level. In many countries, this decline has been accompanied by substantial changes in the ways that such funding has been allocated and monitored. In addition, the institutions governing how research is directed and conducted underwent significant reforms. In this paper we examine how these changes have affected scientists’ research goals and practices by comparing the development (...) of three scientific innovations in four European countries, namely Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Sweden. We find that the increased number of actors exercising authority over research goals does not necessarily lead to a greater diversity of interests funding research. A narrowing of goals and frameworks is especially probable when the increasing importance of external project funding is combined with reductions in state financing of universities and public research institutes. Finally, the growing standardisation of project cycle times and resource packages across funding agencies and scientific communities make it more difficult for researchers to pursue projects that deviate from these norms, especially, if they challenge mainstream beliefs and assessment criteria. (shrink)

Cet article étudie les effets des politiques de financements sur projets sur la recherche académique. À partir du cas d'un laboratoire de biophysique, il rend compte de l'influence de la temporalité gestionnaire courte des projets sur la trajectoire des collectifs scientifiques en considérant la dimension de politique scientifique propre à cet instrument de financement. Destiné à renforcer la collaboration entre physiciens et biologistes, le programme de financement sur projets associé au laboratoire étudié a permis de faire évoluer durablement ses orientations (...) thématiques : des recherches initiées localement se prolongent ensuite sur des financements externes plus importants. L'article montre alors, en comparant les différentes équipes du laboratoire, que l'influence de cette temporalité gestionnaire des projets sur leurs trajectoires dépend largement de la situation des chercheurs et propose alors d'identifier différents régimes d’usage des financements sur projets en lien avec un couplage plus ou moins fort du « temps du projet » sur le déroulement des recherches. (shrink)

Because of the gross difficulties in measuring the societal impact of academic research, qualitative approaches have been developed in the last decade mostly based on forms of interaction between university and other societal stakeholders. In this paper, we suggest a framework for qualitative analysis based on the distinction between three dimensions of societal impact: epistemological, artefactual and interactive-institutional. The epistemological dimension addresses what new research results and understanding of relevant phenomena have contributed to solving of technological and societal problems. The (...) artefactual dimension comprises analysis of the artefacts, methods, tools and services through the use of which societal impact is realized. Finally, in the interactional–institutional dimension the forms and forums of collaboration between university and other societal actors are explored. The model is elaborated by analyzing the work of three university research groups in different disciplines. The framework may be used in articulating formative and dialogical peer evaluation of research to foster learning and social improvement as well as in evaluation of research proposals and research programs. (shrink)

Many science systems are witnessing the rise of intermediary organizations with a coordinating mission, but to date a systematic understanding of their function and effects is lacking. The aim of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of the coordinating efforts of intermediary organizations. Starting from the definition of coordination as the establishment or strengthening of a relationship among the activities in a system, with the aim to enhance their common effectiveness, I develop a heuristic framework that facilitates the (...) systematic analysis of coordination in science. I illustrate and substantiate my framework with the empirical case study of a Dutch coordination task force in the area of chemical technologies. Thanks to the framework I could disentangle a number of functions that this task force fulfils concerning research programming, funding allocation and supporting interactions and collaborations. This approach enabled me to systematically analyse a very heterogeneous set of processes that each deserve to be called coordination. The analysis yields a clear overview of eight coordination processes that are each described in terms of activities, intervention, relationships, mechanisms and performance. I conclude my paper with suggestions for further research on coordination in the science system. (shrink)