Wetenschappelijk onderzoek en maatschappelijke verantwoordelijkheid1

Abstract

Abstract Scientific research and social responsibilityContrary to the powerful image of ivory tower scholarship, aiming to make an impact on society has become an integral part of scholarly practices. This impact emerges through teaching, commercialization of research findings, public engagement, and advice for policy and practice. The latter role requires a solid scientific evidence base. Aligning science and policy is a well-known challenge. I describe ways in which actors ranging from individual scholars, to the organizations where they work, and macro-level players such as publishers, research funders and governments can help advance interaction and communication between the spheres of scholarship and policy. Using firsthand experience in negotiating the boundaries between research and decision making, I describe the context in which the European Commission’s Group of Chief Scientific Advisors works and identify conditions which, in my personal view, make its scientific advice giving effective.