The Science of Science Assessment

The need to build a scientific basis for scientific measurement is a critical element of the field of science of science policy. The increased global interest in metrics has offered an opportunity for national funding agencies, scientific research organizations and publishing houses to combine forces, set an agenda and fund research establishing sound scientific metrics –grounded in theory, built with high quality data and developed by a community of practice.  

 A major challenge to constructing such a scientific basis has been the lack of a data infrastructure designed to report on the impact of science investments.  Science agencies typically have data systems set up to manage the financial and reporting aspects of awards, rather than the actual analysis of the impact. Research institutions have also not had a systematic way to report to stakeholders. Another major challenge is the difficulty of coupling science investments with a complex set of scientific, economic, social and workforce outcomes.  This presentation discusses progress that has been made in building both a theoretical and an emprical foundation for science policy through NSF's SciSIP program, the federal interagency Science of Science Policy interagency group, and the STAR METRICS program.