CALL FOR PARTICIPATION:

“STI research for Policy” EU-SPRI Early Career Event, Utrecht University, May 31^st 2022

The early career event was held at Kaap Doorn Conference Hotel on May 31st 2022. The event was hosted by Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development at Utrecht University and supported by Eu-SPRI Forum and by Institutions for Open Societies at Utrecht University.

1. OBJECTIVES OF THE EVENT

One way for STI scholars to have societal impact is by advising policy makers. However, especially for young scholars it is not always clear how exactly their expertise and research can contribute to the process of policy making. Issues to consider in this respect are, for instance, the research questions that are being investigated, where and how results are presented, how to interact with policy makers, and how to make trade-offs regarding objective and normative stances.

This Early Career Event aimed to support young scholars in thinking about ways they can make their work more relevant and accessible for policy-making. The event started with a lecture by Prof. Dr. Magnus Gulgrandsen (University of Oslo) and plenary discussion on developments in driving and measuring societal impact of STI research, followed by two parallel workshop sessions:

• One session focuses on the possibilities to use datasets with science, technology and innovation indicators as a source for policy-relevant analyses. This session was led by Lionel Villard (ESIEE Paris) of the RISIS project.
• The second session invites participants to develop their personal policy impact strategy by reflecting on e.g. impact motives, roles, challenges and ethical concerns. This was led by Stefan de Jong (Tilburg University).