Collaborative Research: Science Policy Research Report: New Directions for Impact

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When public money is used to fund research, federal science agencies expect excellence in advancing science, along with a clear description of the accompanying societal benefits. This project examines trends for increasing the accountability of scientific research, and identifies new directions for improving the usefulness of science for meeting societal needs. The research presented here has the potential to advance the effectiveness of the STEM community for making its results more relevant to non-academics. The knowledge generated here can help funding agencies demonstrate the societal value of investments in scientific research. This research report reviews the latest elements of the debate surrounding broader impacts in terms of: scientific autonomy versus public accountability, societal concerns versus acceptance of scientific results, the relative advantages of peer review and metrics, and various new mechanisms for encouraging broader impacts. The report offers evidence-based recommendations for policy makers concerned to account for the return on investments in scientific research. The report considers the effects of media, the politics of transparency, the development of a relativistic culture, and compares these developments to policy innovations such as the Impact Agenda and Open Science movement.