Institutions and the Scientific Research Agenda

Senior Visiting Fellow Conference

Which scientific research gets pursued, and the details of how it gets pursued, is greatly influenced by the institutional structures which support science. By institutions, we mean those established social structures that direct resources (of various kinds, from money to intellectual property to ethical approval to jobs) for science. Key institutions for shaping the scientific research agenda include universities, funding agencies, publishers, and patent offices. This workshop will focus on what these institutions should be aiming to do and how should they do it. These questions require addressing the public accountability for scientific research efforts in democratic societies, ideals of scientific freedom, and ways in which science can support or undermine the public good. Answering these questions is made particularly challenging because of the contested nature of the public good in pluralist societies, the difficulty institutions have with nuance and qualitative evaluation, and the tensions around freedom and responsibility in science. This workshop will bring together perspectives on these issues for robust discussion, with the aim of helping to understand how we need to shift the social contract for science in the 21st century.

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Keynote speakers:

David Guston (ASU)

Shobita Parthasarathy (U Michigan)

Carlos Santana (Utah)

Alison Wylie (UBC)

 

Program Committee

Heather Douglas (Senior Visiting Fellow, Center for Philosophy of Science)

Edouard Machery (Director, Center for Philosophy of Science)

Sandy Mitchell (HPS, University of Pittsburgh)

Dana Matthiessen (HPS, University of Pittsburgh)

 

Program Schedule

Friday April 8

8:45 Welcome

 

9:00 Keynote 1: Carlos Santana (Utah), “Why citizen review might beat peer review at identifying pursuitworthy scientific research”

10:30 Session 1: Researcher Evaluation Structures

• Chiara Lisciandra, University of Bologna and Humboldt Experienced Researcher, University of Munich: “Are Article and Journal Metrics a Good Thing?”
• Federico Vasen, University of Buenos Aires: “Faculty evaluation and the shaping of the scientific agenda”

2:00 Session 2: Ethics & Responsibility

• Andrew Schroeder, Claremont McKenna: “A New Role for Ethics Oversight Committees: the “Positive” Side of Ethics”
• Vincenzo Politi, University of Oslo: “How (not) to institutionalize scientific responsibility: philosophical problems in science policy”
• Jen French, Neurotech Network; Denis Larrivee, Loyola; Laura Cabrera, Penn State: “Values and Priorities Embedded in Neurotechnology Funding Mechanisms and Translational Perspectives”

4:30 Keynote 2: Alison Wylie (UBC), “Accountability in the context of collaborative practice: Indigenous-led archaeology”

 

Saturday April 9

9:00 Session 3:  Funding and Research Evaluation 

• Lisa Gajary, Ohio State University; Shalini Misra, Virginia Tech; Anand Desai, Clarivate: “Understanding and Evaluating Convergence Research: Enriching our conceptualizations to meet our aspirations”
• Steve Elliott, NOAA; Gina Eosco, NOAA; Laura Newcomb, NOAA; Joseph Conran, NOAA: “Strategies to Evaluate Research of Public Value at NOAA Raise Conceptual and Epistemological Questions”

10:45 Session 4: Funding and Research Evaluation  (continued)

• Jamie Shaw, University of Toronto: “Lotteries and Socially Responsible Funding Policy”
• Stuart Gluck, Department of Energy: “The Influence of Federal Science and Technology Agencies on Scientific Research”

2:00 Session 5: Structures and the Public 

• Carole Lee, University of Washington: “Certified Amplification: An Emerging Scientific Norm and Ethos”
• Kevin Elliott, Michigan State University: “Making Open Science Relevant to Non-Specialists: Exploring Institutional Initiatives”
• Zachary Pirtle, NASA: “Philosophy of Science in Government?: Working with Practitioners on Deliberations of Public Values in Engineering”

4:30 Keynote 3: Shobita Parthasarathy, “Bringing Equity and Justice into the Research Funding Apparatus”

 

Sunday April 10

9:45 Keynote 4: David Guston (ASU), “University Research for Impact and Outcomes”

11:00 Closing Discussion

 

Registration is required for this event.