Science, clients, and the state : a study of scientific knowledge production and use

This study addresses two main issues that refer to aspects of the relationship between producers and users of research. The first half of the study is focused on the stage of the research process where research problems are selected. The role that potential users of research play in the selection of research problems is investigated, and the extent to which potential applications of research results are defined as important in problem choice. Second, the study analyses the ways in which scientific information is used by government agencies and examines the factors that affect the use of such information in bureaucratic decision-making, and in other activities of government agencies. The two main issues are addressed with a core focus on the possible effects of the organisational context within which research processes and bureaucratic utilisation of research are conducted. The empirical setting of this study is the agricultural and fishery sectors in Norway. Norwegian fisheries and agriculture are sectors where nature, science and public management are intertwined. The two sectors have organisational arrangements that underline the strong ties between science and public administration

Internasjonal IKT-utdanning − Formål, organisering og innhold

I forbindelse med handlingsplanen for IKT i norsk utdanning (2000-2003) fremkom det et behov for en større utredning om IKT som fag. Utdannings- og forskningsdepartementet har bedt Norgesnettrådet iverksette en slik utredning i løpet av 2002. Som et ledd i denne utredningen har Norgesnettrådets sekretariat bedt NIFU om å kartlegge og vurdere hvordan IKT utdanningene er organisert i en del utvalgte land, slik at en nærmere sammenligning med norsk IKT utdanning kan gjøres. Dette notatet er resultatet av dette arbeidet

A Multi-level Approach to Differentiated Integration: Distributive Policy, National Heterogeneity and Actors in the European Research Area

This paper argues that differentiated integration can be understood more thoroughly by using a multi-level approach that conceives of the nation state as an aggregate of partly autonomous subunits and actors. The participation of such components in European integration is influenced by a combination of type of policy through which integration is pursued, national heterogeneity, their loosely coupledness within national systems. By examining the case of the European Research Area, we document patterns of differentiated integration across governance levels and discuss how the following factors shape these patterns: the competitive nature of the European distributive instruments, stark variation in national and sub-national material conditions and in the governance of national research systems, as well as the normative and cognitive factors specific to the research policy sector. The conceptual and policy-based implications to the debate on European differentiated integration are discussed

European Parliament staff: who are they and do their backgrounds influence decision-making?

The European Parliament and the political groups within it employ a number of staff members to help co-ordinate various aspects of the Parliament’s legislative work. But who are these staff members and do their individual backgrounds influence their decisions? Morten Egeberg, Åse Gornitzka and Jarle Trondal present the results of a survey of European Parliament officials. They write that while staff come from a variety of different backgrounds, factors such as their nationality and previous experiences have only a modest effect on their decision-making behaviour. Nevertheless, these factors may have a more symbolic impact, for instance in terms of the trust placed in the Parliament by citizens

Bureaucratization in Public Research Institutions

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the nature of bureaucratization within public research bodies and its relationship to scientific performance, focusing on an Italian case-study. The main finding is that the bureaucratization of the research sector has two dimensions: public research labs have academic bureaucratization since researchers spend an increasing part of their time in administrative matters (i.e., preparing grant applications, managing grants/projects, and so on); whereas universities mainly have administrative bureaucratization generated by the increase over time of administrative staff in comparison with researchers and faculty. In addition, I show that research units with higher bureaucratization have lower scientific performance

Societal Inclusion in Expert Venues: Participation of Interest Groups and Business in the European Commission Expert Groups

The elaborate system of expert groups that the European Commission organises is a key feature of EU everyday governance and also a potential channel of societal involvement in EU policy making. This article examines the patterns of participation in the expert group system of a broad set of societal actors—NGOs, social partners/unions, consumer organisations, and business/enterprise. The analysis is based on a large-N study of Commission expert groups. Taking on an “executive politics” perspective, we identify main patterns of participation and analyse organisational factors that affect the inclusion of societal actors in the expert group system. We find that such actors are strongly involved in this system. Yet, there is a striking heterogeneity in the extent to which the Commission’s administrative units include societal groups as experts in the policy process. The logics that underpin the inclusion of business organisations are not identical to the logics of inclusion applied to social partners and NGOs. The Commission as the core supranational executive is thus selectively open for societal involvement in its expert groups system, and this bureaucratic openness is patterned, clustered, and conditioned by structural factors that affect how the Commission as a multi-organisation operates

The Expert-Executive Nexus in the EU: An Introduction

Expertise has played a pivotal role in EU executives since the European Union (EU) was established, but its significance is arguably increasing and takes on new shapes. This issue explores the role and use of expert knowledge in decision-making in and by EU executive institutions. © 2015 by the authors; licensee Cogitatio (Lisbon, Portugal). This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribu-tion 4.0 International License (CC BY)