5th Iteration on "Science Maps for Science Policy Makers" (2009)
This iteration of the exhibit is devoted to maps that address the needs of science policy makers. Among others, science policy makers are interested to identify areas for future development, to stimulate new research areas, and to increase the flow of ideas into products. Hence, they need to identify emerging research areas; understand how scientific areas are linked to each other; examine what areas are multi-disciplinary, measure collaborations and knowledge flows at the personal, institutional, national, and global level; identify and compare core competencies of economically competing institutions and countries; identify and fund central and not peripheral research centers, etc.Increasing demands for accountability require decision makers to assess outcomes and impacts of science and technology policy. There is an urgent need to evaluate the impact of funding/research on scientific progress: to monitor (long-term) money flow and research developments, to evaluate funding strategies for different programs, and to determine project durations and funding patterns.
The ultimate question is: What science policy creates the most knowledge and the highest competitiveness?
Science map makers were invited to submit:
- Low resolution version of map
- Title of Work
- Author(s) name, email address, affiliation, mailing address
- Copyright holder (if different from authors)
- Description of work: Science policy maker needs addressed, data used, data analysis, visualization techniques applied, and main insights gained (100-300 words)
- References to publications in which the map appeared
- Links to related projects/works
For the 5th Iteration, we received 28 submissions. The exhibit advisory board and external science policy experts were asked to judge the maps and their descriptions in terms of
- Scientific value – quality of data collection, analysis, result communication. Appropriate (innovative?) application of existing algorithms and/or development of new approaches.
- Value for science policy making – what major insight does the map provide and why does it matter? Is the map easy to understand by science policy makers and the exhibit audience?
