Research Policy

Research in research policy focuses on, among other issues:

• analysis of funding instruments and their impacts on knowledge production
• prioritisation and evaluation of research
• organisation of research and innovation
• research infrastructure
• university–industry collaboration.

Examples of research in research policy

The main focus of the research group is the KNOWSCIENCE research programme which centers on understanding how the policy and science systems co-produce the conditions for sustainable knowledge provision. We investigate this by examining the interaction between research funding and other policy instruments for governing higher education and research (HER) and the informal rules and processes that have been developed to ensure the quality of the knowledge they produce. We refer to this as the interplay between structural and epistemic governance. Understanding this relationship is necessary for building sustainable knowledge-producing institutions and securing society’s long-term knowledge provision. 

The research effort is currently organised around three questions: 

1. Do epistemic cultures (STEM – Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics; and HSS – Humanities and Social Sciences) play a role in how researchers respond to governance, such as research funding and evaluation instruments? 
2. Do epistemic cultures and disciplinary governance structures, including norms, influence how researchers formulate and enact research impact?  

• What types of policy frameworks regarding priority setting, funding, and evaluation would be required to meet the challenges of building sustainable knowledge-producing institutions?

  Ongoing projects

• Research on priority-setting and innovation procurement processes at the Swedish Transport Agency (Trafikverket).
• The impact of excellence funding instruments in science.

Contact: Merle Jacob