Suchergebnisse

This paper deals with the role of research and development (R&D) managers in shaping the landscape of public research in Europe. These R&D managers work in the sphere of public research within national government laboratory services. The case we present is of the reconfiguration of metrology research. Metrology is the science of measurement. We examine why scientists and research managers in nationally embedded institutes, which are performing R&D in support of national policy and local industry needs, have chosen to co-operate in a shared research programme. This means giving up, in part, their national sovereignty over funds and decision making. Furthermore, we examine how they have achieved the shared programme, which was launched as a European Commission (EC) programme through the Article 185 initiative, which allows the European Union to participate in research programmes undertaken jointly by several Member States. © 2012 The Authors R&D Management © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to describe and evaluate the use of a five‐step foresight process and the application of scenario methods to grasp the range of future alternatives that might confront researchers and research managers in European metrology research institutes. The sector is to be examined as a part of a larger study that aims to reflect on the potential future roles for the public research institutes, in several sectors (the other sectors in the study included civil space, plant science, geosurveys, and marine), towards the development of the European Research Area (ERA).Design/methodology/approachThe paper illustrates how scenario methods were used to, first, serve as a basis for policy recommendations for the field of European metrology research institutes and, second, help experts and stakeholders to network and actively discuss a shared vision of the future of the field.FindingsThis case demonstrates the need for proactive strategic management which goes well beyond the institutional boundary, into national policy and European decision making. As other areas of European research begin to think about the importance of European cooperation, lessons can be drawn from the experience of this particular sector. The process of looking forward took on board the political context and allowed participants and the researchers to think beyond these boundaries.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough this is a pioneering study, there is a danger that some inputs may not have been captured. The results build on the input of a limited number of experts only and on the literature available in the public domain. There were few participants discussing the future of a vast field of research and this may mean that important input has not been captured. Time limitations in the workshops necessarily limit the scope for experts and policy makers to engage with the concepts. Follow‐up activities based on the research outputs are required for the findings to go forward.Practical implicationsBringing together different stakeholders for shaping a shared vision through scenario workshops led to rich interactions and creative thinking. The workshops created a space for experts to consider policy options for reforming and making better use of the institutes in building the ERA.Originality/valueUsing scenario workshops for foresight research results as an opportunity for stakeholders to visualise different futures for metrology research within Europe. The public research institute sector tends to be more generally under‐studied as a component of modern innovation systems. We evaluate and show that the foresight process is an appropriate methodology to look at what is inherently a political process at the implementation level.

Cover -- Contents -- Acknowledgements -- List of acronyms -- 1. Introduction -- RECODE -- The book -- 2. Defining a 'knowledge society' -- Introduction -- Data in society -- Society as a social and human product: Learning, knowledge and institutions -- Science as an institution: Knowledge production and society -- Post-industrial society: Positioning knowledge in the wider socio-economic process -- Information society and the knowledge economy -- Defining a knowledge society and changes towards Mode 2 knowledge production -- Conclusion -- 3. Visions of open data -- Introduction -- Civil society and open data -- Open government data -- Open research data -- Commercial sector and big data -- Provenance of data and data ecosystems -- Conclusion -- 4. Mobilising open data -- Introduction -- Summary of the overarching context of a movement pushing for open data -- Understanding the mobilisation of open data as a movement -- Openness as a value: Society, science and the World Wide Web (WWW) -- The configuration of an open data movement: The characteristics of social movements and actors in mobilising open data -- Open data in wider society: Citizens and organisations access and use of data -- Conclusion -- 5. Institutions in the data ecosystem -- Actors in the public knowledge domain and in private data companies -- Introduction -- Institutions and their changing role in data ecosystems -- Challenges -- Conclusion -- 6. Mobilising data -- Scientific disciplines, scientific practice and making research data open -- Introduction -- The policy drive towards open research data -- Disciplinary negotiations around implementing open access to research data -- Current research practices and their alignment with open access -- Data-centred research -- Data work and recognition -- Contemporary research and data complexity -- Conclusion: Mobilising data.

This book considers the role of the open data movement in fostering transformation toward a 'knowledge society'.

In this deliverable, we report on our work on infrastructural and technological barriers to Open Access and preservation of research data as identified by key stakeholder groups. Through a mix of qualitative, quantitative and document review methods, we identified five key barriers to successfully implementing Open Access to research data in Europe: data heterogeneity and issues of standardisation; accessibility and discoverability issues; data preservation and curation; data quality and assessability; and data security. We explore these issues in detail and present existing good practice, and technical and infrastructural solutions used to mitigate such barriers. This work was conducted within the EU FP7 funded project RECODE, which focuses on developing policy recommendations for Open Access to Research Data in Europe. In particular, this work is coordinated by RECODE Work Package 2 (WP2), Infrastructure and technology.

This report is the deliverable for Work Package 1 (WP1), Stakeholder Values and Ecosystems, of the EU FP7 funded project RECODE (Grant Agreement No: 321463), which focuses on developing Policy Recommendations for Open Access to Research Data in Europe. WP1 focuses on understanding stakeholder values and ecosystems in Open Access, dissemination and preservation in the area of scientific and scholarly data (thus not government data). The objectives of this WP are as follows: • Identify and map the diverse range of stakeholder values in Open Access data and data dissemination and preservation. • Map stakeholder values on to research ecosystems using case studies from different disciplinary perspectives. • Conduct a workshop to evaluate and identify good practice in addressing conflicting value chains and stakeholder fragmentation.