New governance arrangements in science policy

This WZB discussion paper is a collection of five papers dealing with current shifts in the boundaries between science and politics and their consequences on governance arrangements in science policy. In his article, Dietmar Braun analyses international developments in publicly funded research systems, diagnosing a currently emerging model of “network governance” – a policy approach based upon the management of interdependence of autonomous public (and private) agencies in horizontal relations. Daniel Barben takes an internationally comparative and transnational perspective and examines changes in science and policy regimes together with the interaction between them. His article stresses the value of the “regime” concept to analyse complex and interdependent transformations in science and politics. Henry Etzkowitz discusses his “triple helix” model developed to understand the joint innovation processes of science, industry and the state. His article specifically points out the implications of triple helix innovation processes for the state, manifest for example in economic policies and on the regional policy level. Peter Weingart criticises the often inadvertent consequences of assessment procedures and bibliometrical measurement on the science system. He argues for a critical reflection and reform of the peer review system in order to improve the instruments for research evaluation and quality assurance in science. These articles represent a promising and growing field of scholarship combining approaches of science policy studies with those of science and technology studies.