Science of Science Management

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To support building capacity and infrastructure in the Science of Science Management, the NIH brought together a multi-disciplinary group of experts in October 2008 to create an arena for topics relevant to the systematic research of science management with a focus on providing evidence-based information for decision makers.

Objectives

  • Identify potential science management intervention or tension points by studying patterns, pathways, and profiles of science discoveries and scientists' careers.
  • Provide evidence-based results that can be utilized for science decision-making, planning, prediction, and policies.
  • Build capacity and infrastructure to conduct science management assessment projects that result in enhanced approaches for assessing performance.
  • Develop dissemination and communication strategies and resources that enable the diffusion of assessment strategies into science management practices.

October 2008 Meeting

The Science of Science Management October meeting created a forum to initiate the systematic research of science management issues, with a focus on providing evidence-based information for executives, scientists, practitioners, individuals, and policy decision-makers. The evaluation of science has been problematic, due to the complexities of the research and development (R&D) process because of unknown timeframes, costs and products. Shifting the focus to science management may foster more appropriate R&D performance assessments, develop schemas and models for benchmarking, and build the capacity to systematically research science management topics. These results can be used to foster evidence-based decision making. Seemingly, no one discipline or tool can appropriately assess science management. Therefore, the NIH created a venue for cross-talk between multi-disciplined experts in the fields of evaluation, social and behavioral sciences, economics, organization/systems theory, information technology, and science policy, as well as the NIH science staff. The goal of this collaborative effort was to produce assessment models that can be researched and tested post meeting.

A core element of the meeting was four simultaneous, closed session breakout discussions, which aligned with the conceptual model of the meeting (see Meeting Overview below). Each breakout discussion focused on a single priority question in order to create a feasible cross-disciplinary assessment model. The discussions were led by the NIH Institute Directors with the participation of invited experts and a cross-section of key NIH staff. These collaborative efforts created proposed assessment models that may be tested. The results can provide evidence-based information for decision makers to plan or to create policy.

Science of Science Management Meeting Available Online

Click here to access the videocast and presentation slides.

Meeting Materials


WebThe information on this page is archived and provided for reference purposes only. People with disabilities having difficulty accessing information on this page may email for assistance at Evaluate@mail.nih.gov

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