Research Programming for Excellence: Is it possible, and, if so, desirable?
October 17-19, 2002, Warsaw, Poland

Agenda

Thursday, October 17, 2002

09:00 - 10:00	Registration
Opening Session Chairman: Stanislaw Walukiewicz - CIMPAN
10:00 - 10:45	Welcome Addresses Jan Krzysztof Frackowiak, State Secretary & Ronald J. Pohoryles - ICCR
10:45 - 11:15	Coffee Break
11:15 - 12:30	Roundtable Discussion Francois Bafoil, Jan Krzysztof Frackowiak, Maciej W. Grabski, Danuta Huebner, Malgorzata Pawlisz, Jacek Piechota and Jacek Saryusz-Wolski
12:30 - 14:00	Lunch Break
Session 1: Government and governance in science: are boundaries shifting? Chairman: Tadeusz Zoltowski - CIMPAN Rapporteurs: Eino Tunkelo - The Finnish Academy of Technology and Maria Nedeva - PREST Recent studies have shown that in the field of science and research "governance" is not merely rhetoric, but plays a major role in policy making. Governance can be understood as a way how governments implement their aims and strategic options in consultation with the other actors in science and research. More specifically, science policy options to sustain reasonable scientific achievement in a situation of scarcity of public funding have to be addressed. This is even more important for the CCs combining a low GERD with a low GDP. Relevant to this is the analysis of coherence of research policy options between the different funding institutions and ministries. Governance has to be understood as an interaction between knowledge producers, policy makers and other stakeholders in the field as outlined in the Commission’s Communication "Science and Society". Stakeholders are not just policy makers and industries, but citizens and non-governmental institutions as well (regional groups, patients’ initiatives, social groups, etc.).
14:00 - 14:30	Boundary Crossing Chris Caswill - ESRC
14:30 - 15:00	From research policy to the governance of research? A theoretical Framework and some empirical conclusions John Crowley & Elise Féron - CIR Paris
15:00 - 15:30	The impact of international organisations on national science and technology policy and good governance Klaus-Heinrich Standke - International Academy Schloß Bayreuth
15:30 - 16:00	Discussion
16:00 - 16:30	Coffee Break
16:30 - 17:00	Management in business and governance of science Stanislaw Walukiewicz - CIMPAN
17:00 - 17:30	Persuaded Industrial Interest in State Funded Research Hans-Liudger Dienel - Centre for Technology and Society, Berlin
17:30 - 18:00	Discussion
18:00	Dinner

Friday, October 18, 2002

Session 2: Excellence in national and international context (Morning) Chairperson: Maria Nedeva - PREST Rapporteurs: Riccardo Cappellin - University of Rome & Judith Mosoni-Fried - Hungarian Academy of Sciences In more recent policy making for science and technology achieving "research excellence" has gained quite an exceptional status and has become one of the leading themes/aims of policy. This process is fairly universal and governments of countries varying widely according to their levels of socio-economic and technological development include ‘achieving research excellence’ into their political discourse. Meanwhile the very concept of ‘research excellence’ as well as its social manifestations and supporting policies, are fairly complex, multi-faceted and more often than not politically and culturally grounded. This workshop aims to initiate a focused and, we hope, fruitful discussion on the meaning and implementation of ‘excellence in research’ within different cultural contexts. It is our conviction that such a discussion is particularly timely in the light of implementation of the European Research Area (ERA). The following topics will be addressed: a) The changing (or not) nature and understanding of ‘research excellence’ in different national contexts. Here particularly important and interesting issues are: ‘Is ‘research excellence’ understood to mean the same thing(s) within different cultural and policy-making contexts?’; ‘What are the ways and mechanisms (tools) used to distinguish ‘research excellence’?; ‘Are ‘research excellence’ and ‘scientific excellence’ different?’ b) Policies for ‘excellence’. Here the discussion will focus on the variety of national/regional policies aiming to encourage ‘research excellence’. Presentations raising the issues related to diverging rationales for policy formulation and implementation are particularly welcome. While discussing these rationales contributors are encouraged to consider the international dimensions of the issue of ‘research excellence’. c) Excellent research and best practice. Is ‘excellent research’ entirely contextual or it is possible to establish and disseminate best practice? d) How to register and measure ‘excellent research’? Under this heading contributors are invited to consider (and share experience about) ways to evaluate excellence in research.
10:00 - 10:30	Consensus of the excellence paradigm, differences of the approaches to put it into practice Christo Balarew & Mirolyuba Madjarova - Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
10:30 - 11:00	New directions for the governance of science policy - A view from Portugal Tiago Santos Pereira - Institute for International Scientific and Technological Cooperation, Lisboa
11:00 - 11:30	Discussion
11:30 - 12:00	Coffee Break
12:00 - 12:30	Evaluating Excellence Kate Barker - PREST
12:30 - 13:00	Discussion
12:30 - 14:00	Lunch Break
Session 3: Networking for excellence (Afternoon) Chairman: Michael Steiner - Technical University Graz Rapporteurs: John Crowley - CIR Paris & Hans-Luidger Dienel - ZTG, Berlin Networking is the mechanism for production and reproduction of social capital. In R&D, networking is also a mechanism for production and reproduction of cognitive capital. There are four major structural levels for networking in R&D aiming at the increase of quality of research and development. First, this is the structural level of networking in R&D teams. The constructive group dynamics is the major mechanism of networking which fosters excellence at this level of R&D. At the level of R&D organizations the well balanced relation of formal rules and informality is the major characteristic of networking supportive to excellence. At the third level of national R&D complexes the situation is to some extent similar because of the need to keep a balance between the necessary state support to R&D and the very much needed autonomy of R&D institutions. Fourth, international networking is getting more and more relevant in fostering excellence in R&D. Given this background, there are three burning issues for discussion: What factors foster or hinder constructive networking at these structural levels of R&D systems and thus foster or hinder excellence in R&D? What are the relationships between networking at these four structural levels and how do they influence excellence of R&D? Last but not least, what are the implications of the emerging common European Research Area for networking at the different levels in R&D and consequently on the search for excellence in European science? In this session very specific features of networking for excellence have to be addressed. It should be practically oriented, as a forum of exchanges of good practices, suggestions, comments of practitioners etc.
14:00 - 14:30	Territorial knowledge management: towards a metrics of the cognitive dimension of agglomeration economies Riccardo Cappellin - University of Rome
14:30 - 15:00	Networks as evolving social technologies. Institutional perspectives and policy issues Michael Steiner - University of Graz
15:00 - 15:30	Discussion
15:30 - 16:00	Coffee Break
16:00 - 16:30	The social-ecological research programme – towards an transdisciplinary and integrated governance structure in science and research on global change Alexander Carius - ADELPHI Research Berlin
16:30 - 17:00	The Role of Networks for the Development of Knowledge Lidiya Kavunenko - Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, STEPS, Kiev
17:00 - 17:30	Setting up innovative networks in Silesia Jan Stachowicz & Stanislaw Walukiewicz - CIMPAN
17:30 - 18:00	Discussion
18:00 - 18:45	Buffet Dinner
18:45 - 19:30	Concert at the National Philharmonic Hall

Saturday, October 19, 2002

Closing Session Chairman: Ronald J. Pohoryles - ICCR Vienna
10:00 - 10:30	Conclusions Christo Balarew & Mirolyuba Madjarova - Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
10:30 - 12:30	Round table discussion Aaron Benavot, Konrad Buschbeck, Krzysztof Jan Kurzydlowski and Jan Woroniecki
12:30 - 14:00	Lunch

Venue

Jablonna Palace
Warsaw, Poland

Copyright © 1995-2008 ICCR. Terms of Use.	Last modified: 2008-01-31