Research for society Towards a method for the assessment of research in a policy context

The primary goal of this dissertation is to change the debate about the evaluation of scientific research in the context of policy and society. Its main premise is that while in large sectors of society academic knowledge is considered important and necessary to address major challenges, the relations between science and society are underdeveloped and therefore not productive enough to help solve these issues.
The first step toward making their relations more productive involves researching changes in their relations in the context of current evaluation procedures and policy that appear inadequate to cope with these changes. The ‘ivory tower’, disciplinary mode of academic knowledge production that prevailed for much of the 20th century is giving way to what has been called “a new production of knowledge,” characterised by collaboration between academic researchers and partners in policy circles and society. Current evaluation systems need to adapt to this change.
Following this analysis, a model and method for evaluating scientific research in the context of policy and societal challenges are presented. The model is based on the charting and valuation of a variety of interactions between the academic sector and the broader society. Empirical data are based on research done in both the university sector (the policy of Conditional Financing introduced in the early 1980s) and in three Sector Councils, established by the Dutch government in the late 1970s to bridge the gap between science and society.