Economic and Social Research Council, UK

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Economic and Social Research Council, UK

• Keynote Address PRIME 7.1.05
• The Future of Research
• by Adrian Alsop ESRC Director for Research,
  Training and Development

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Summary

• Two parts to this presentation I hope you will
  see as relevant to PRIME
• How ESRC as a nation state public funder of
  research is developing its policies for research
  funding
• A perspective on some of the major challenges for
  understanding the future of research-moving
  beyond linear and national models to a globally
  distributed innovation system and a specific
  challenge to social science in the Union from the
  emergence of nanotechnologies.

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- ESRCs purpose -

• Knowledge Impact
• Advancing knowledge in all areas of human and
  social activity
• Promoting its use for people in the United
  Kingdom and the wider world

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- ESRC principles -

• Quality Relevance
  Independence
• Quality Funding research and training of the
  highest quality by world standards
• Relevance Focusing on areas of major national
  importance and key policy areas eg succeeding in
  the global economy
• Independence Ensuring independence from
  political, commercial or sectional interests

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ESRC New Strategic Framework Principles

• Like many public sector research funders we
  increasingly emphasise
• a transparent process of priority setting and
  implementation
• a speedy response to new opportunities and
  challenges
• promote and ensure engagement with all
  stakeholders in strategic process

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ESRCs New Strategic Framework

• Four Strategic Areas
• Capacity
• Research
• Engagement
• Performance

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1. Capacity

• Our Aim
• To build sufficient capacity i.e. expert
  researchers, data and methodology for the UK to
  undertake top class social science
• Key Priorities
• Research career stages, especially first
  grants/fellowships
• Health of disciplines-raising capacity in
  selected areas
• Enhancing research skills and leadership skills
• New data sources
• This includes Studentships, Fellowships,
  Datasets, Methodology

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2. Research (i)

• Our Aim
• Support excellent social science research that
  pushes forward the frontiers of science and
  addresses areas of major national importance
• Key Priorities
• Explicit consideration of international,
  international comparative and issues of
  particular scientific interest in different areas
  of UK
• More emphasis on seizing opportunities in
  responsive mode
• More emphasis on working in partnership with
  other funders, within and beyond UK

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2. Research (ii)

• Our Aim
• Support excellent social science research that
  pushes forward the frontiers of science and
  addresses areas of major national importance
• Key Priorities what ESRC is currently
  considering-
• Succeeding in the global economy
• Population change
• Environmental change
• Understanding and shaping individual decisions
• Education-life chances and behaviours
• Religion and society
• Understanding the exceptional
• This includes Full spectrum of research funding
  modes from seizing opportunities in responsive
  mode to creating opportunities through focussed
  research agendas

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3. Engagement

• Our Aim
• Again like other public sector research funders,
  we aim to achieve the highest level of engagement
  and knowledge transfer of funded research
• Key Priorities what ESRC is considering-
• Syntheses of research as evidence for action
• Improving on-line access
• Contributions to development of professional
  research skills
• Making it easier to carry out international
  collaborative research
• This includes Information Centre, Knowledge
  Transfer, international strategy
  ERANETs,bi-lateral responsive mode

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4. Performance

• Our Aim
• Achieve scientific and organisational excellence
  to maximise ESRCs effectiveness
• Key Priorities Better impact metrics for the
  social sciences

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Development and Implementation
Stakeholder Consultation
LEARNED SOCIETIES COLLEGE
INSTITUTIONS
USERS
INDIVIDUAL SCIENTISTS
OTHER FUNDERS
RCUK PARTNERS
Boards, Committees input -October Council initial
view, as above Boards and Committees Develop
Strategic Plans
IN VIEW OF PLANS AND AVAILABLE RESOURCES, COUNCIL
AGREES STRATEGIC PRIORITIES IN APRIL
IMPLEMENTATION
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Major but problematic concepts for the future of
research In Europe

• Beyond linear models
• -Linear models 90 discredited in research
  literature
• -But linear models still 80 used in policy
  discourse on science
• -Explained by considerations of power, statusand
  also shortcomings of social science research
  community?

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Beyond national innovation systems
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Beyond national innovation systems

• In principle dynamic and complex national
  system models can be developed for a Union of
  25.or even 30
• But a grand challenge for social science is to
  map and explain a dynamic and complex globally
  distributed innovation system where roles of
  actors within countries at all levels of
  development can be identified

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Triple Helix Revisited

• Undoubted merit in understanding the intertwining
  of
• businesses, governments and universities
• In a global innovation system these will be of
  different thicknesses and interconnectedness in
  different places-and evolving at different
  speeds.
• But we may need to keep reminding ourselves that
  in capitalist societies the business strand is
  likely to be the dominant one-the three strands
  are not of the same importance
• New metaphor needed?

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Nanotechnologies-in urgent need of European
social science research

• Why nanotechnologies should be given special
  attention
• -pervasive basic technologies that challenge
  traditional divisions of labour between and
  within natural and physical sciences
• -real time opportunity to study formation and
  evolution of risk perception and trust
• -challenge of unintended or unforeseen use- not
  grey goo but perhaps as in the economic and
  social history of asbestos

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Unintended use

• British Medical Journal article estimate that
  tens of thousands of people could die from the
  fatal disease mesothelioma, caused by the
  inhalation of asbestos dust. The authors of the
  report expect the epidemic to peak about 2015 to
  2020 when the death rate in the UK could be as
  many as 2,000 per year. The disease has a long
  incubation period and can take up to fifty years
  in some cases for symptoms to develop.
• Medical scientists in the UK were aware of the
  risks of asbestos 90 years ago

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Nanotechnologies-in urgent need of European
social science research

• Because the European Union is the key regulatory
  and risk assessment level of analysis

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Summary

• Two parts to this presentation I hope you have
  seen as relevant to PRIME
• How ESRC as a nation state public funder of
  research is developing its policies for research
  funding
• A perspective on some of the major challenges for
  understanding the future of research-moving
  beyond linear and national models to a globally
  distributed innovation system and a specific
  challenge to social science in the Union from the
  emergence of nanotechnologies.
• Adrian Alsop 7.1.05