Position paper to redefine the concept of excellence

How can excellent research with societal responsibility succeed? The “LeNa Shape” project has put forward proposals for a new definition of the concept of excellence and the necessary changes in the science system.
The authors of the position paper see social responsibility as the “very own task” of excellent research. (Source: KIT)
The LeNa Shape project team (Source: LeNa)

Science faces increasingly complex and uncertain issues. At the same time, its growing societal responsibility is emphasized – combined with the expectation of delivering problem solutions quickly.

In the “LeNa Shape” project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, researchers from ITAS and other institutions have investigated the consequences of this development for the practice of the concept of excellence.

Changes in the science system

At the end of the project, the researchers presented a position paper proposing changes in six elements of the science system. For example, excellent research should understand and implement social responsibility as “its very own task.” In addition, the fulfillment of societal expectations should be included in the evaluation of excellent research.

New criteria for research funding

The researchers themselves and the framework conditions of the science system also play a central role. The position paper recommends making the assumptionof societal responsibility a criterion for research funding and the evaluation of research, as well as systematically motivating individuals in the research process to reflect on this. It also highlights the importance of applying the LeNa criteria developed in a previous project in the research process and in the assessment of research impacts.

Approaches to dealing with trade offs

The paper also deals with expected conflicts in the course of such changes – for example, conflicts with other science policy goals such as research efficiency and international competitiveness, or the question of whether social responsibility can be generalized for all types and disciplines of research. The authors outline practical approaches for dealing with such conflicts. (17.06.2024)

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