What drives scientific research to become increasingly transformative?
What paths can bring more and more benefits of science to all segments of society?
Excellence in everything one does, going beyond the quality of research itself, is the theme currently pursued by institutions engaged in planning, conducting, and disseminating scientific research and its outcomes.
These questions and more are at the core of the Research on Research and Innovation project.
The project focuses on conducting cutting-edge research involving indicators and methodologies related to trends and dynamics in the production of scientific and technological knowledge. It also explores the connections between the uses of knowledge through innovation and the consequences for society. This initiative aligns with a theme that has been explored in numerous countries: research on research and innovation
Supported by Fapesp and building on previous projects centered around Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) indicators in São Paulo, this project introduces novel analysis, evaluation, and measurement methodologies. It operates at the forefront of what is known as ‘research on research’ or ‘science of science policy.’
Expanding the concept of excellence to emphasize research conducted with quality and scientific rigor, along with the quest for impact indicators and methods beyond the scientific and technological sphere have driven a movement of diversification and the creation of evidence regarding impacts across multiple dimensions. These impacts increasingly influence the guidelines and practices of funding agencies, research institutions, higher education institutions, and government agencies.
The project results are channeled into three main areas:
- Support the planning of research, development, and innovation (RDI) policies and strategies for the benefit of society;
- Measuring and comprehending research impacts and identifying opportunities for enhancing these impacts to benefit the world;
- Demonstrate and disseminate the positive effects of investment in STI and how to systematically improve them.
The diversification and the creation of evidence of impacts in multiple dimensions represent an irreversible trend. The need for well-informed information concerning the effects of research funding, spanning both basic and applied research, across various dimensions, sectors, and subjects that are of general and specific societal interest, has been increasingly recognized. This is particularly evident in funding agencies, universities, research organizations, government entities, legislative bodies, and oversight agencies.
Funding agencies worldwide have initiated specific programs aimed at developing and disseminating the necessary tools for planning, responding, and integrating the dynamism of STI progress into public policies and strategies. They do so because they understand that investment in STI serves as a powerful catalyst for social transformation and economic development.