Stimulating Research on Science of Science & Innovation Julia Lane, NSF

Overview  Science of Science & Innovation  Current activities –SciSIP –Examples of funded research  Future activities –STAR METRICS –International collaboration 2

Theory  Production function framework great for aggregate impacts (Haskell/Clayton)  At micro level not so clear –Discovery – innovation highly nonlinear –Unit of analysis? –Dependent on organizational systems  Establishing counterfactuals  Outcome measures? –Scientific –Economic –Social 3

Empirical  Structural –Science agencies have proposal and award administration systems => no systematic frame of individuals “touched” by science funding  Data collection potential –Substantial investments in some areas – notably patents and citations, and potential in others (LEHD) – but fragmented and voluntary in nature –Ethnographic information, most obviously in biotechnology and nanotechnology –Little chance for random assignment –Possible natural experiment with ARRA 4

Role of Evaluation  Where and how to intervene? –R&D tax credit –“innovative work force” –Broadband –Science funding in general Levels Disciplines Portfolio (geographic, riskiness, size, structure..)  Comparison to other federal investments –Health, workforce, education, climate change 5

So…here’s a chance to build out a field  United States –SciSIP program established in 2005, $8-10 million/year –Explicitly interdisciplinary – economists, sociologists, psychologists, political scientists, anthropologists –Goals: Understanding (theories); measurement (models, metrics, datasets); community of practice (academics, practitioners) –Examples: Labor economics; Aging research  United Kingdom –NESTA –Department of Business, Innovation and Skills –Research Councils –New Government? 6

Theoretical Foundation: Researcher Input  SciSIP program –Understanding (knowledge and theories) –Measurement ( improve and expand science metrics, datasets and analytical models and tools) –Community of practice(website, workshops, listserv) 75 awards made since 2007 – about $36 million direct, $10 million leveraged from other programs; fourth solicitation – over 100 proposals submitted 7

Examples of research already funded Economics  Azoulay/Graff-Zivin Superstar Scientists  Hobijn/Comin Technology Adoption and Diffusion Sociology  Woody Powell and others Networks  Zucker/Darby Large scale data infrastructure Psychology  Schunn Analysis of team interactions  Gero Situated cognition views of innovation Visualization Visual Analytics Mapping 8

STAR (Science and Technology in America’s Recovery)

10 Empirical Foundation: Building a framework  Framework: a collection of integrated databases Agency records transmitted on a flow basis University records transmitted on a flow basis  Reduce Burden on PI’s and Universities –Automated webscraping and reporting of outcomes to agencies, state legislatures and other constituencies –Systematized, standardized and validated ongoing measurement of long term impact of science Economic: Patents, patent applications, new businesses Scientific Outcomes: Creation and uptake of ideas: e.g. citations, new fields Social outcomes: Health, welfare, environment…

Institution STAR Pilot Project Acquisition And Analysis Direct Benefit Analysis Intellectual Property Benefit Analysis Innovation Analysis Jobs, Purchases, Contracts Benefit Analysis Detailed Characterization and Summary Institution Agency Budget Award State Funding PersonnelVendorContractor HR System Procurement System Subcontracting System Endowment Funding Financial System HireBuyEngage Disbursement Award Record Start-Up Papers Patents Download State Research Project Existing Institutional Reporting Agency

Examples of Research Possibilities

Modeling Policy Outcomes: Mapping Innovation Pathways

Partnership with Science Agencies and Universities  Current: –OSTP and major science agency led initiative –Actual, administratively based, externally verifiable, measures of job creation for pilot universities –Expanding to additional universities  University faculty invited to participate in matching exercise with citations, patents, patent applications and other economic/scientific/social outcome metrics –Report to OSTP and participating agencies scheduled for March

What does this entail?  Partner with Pis to – develop flow-based annual and final reports/biosketches –Visualizations of networks and impact –Collaborative tagging of research outputs etc….  Partner with university administrators to develop flow-based impact of science funding 16

17 Ultimate Goals  Fully fledged academic field  Fully fledged analytical tool set in government: Science policy in same analytical tier as tax policy  Common empirical infrastructure available to all universities and science agencies to quickly respond to State, Congressional and OMB requests  Common scientific infrastructure for researchers to develop and study science metrics

Join the Effort Join the listserv  Send a blank to: Visit the new site at the end of November and:  Register and build your profile  Add material to the site (publications, news, events, etc.)  Comment on and rate existing material Submit proposals to SciSIP 18