1.2: Workshops
Conduct three to six workshops each year. Other Information:
SBE initiated the SciSIP activities by sponsoring three agenda-setting workshops dealing with knowledge creation and innovation.
In May 2006, the Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences hosted the “NSF Innovation and Discovery Workshop: The Scientific
Basis of Individual and Team Innovation and Discovery.” Researchers from the psychological sciences, together with members
of the engineering community, focused on the cognitive processes of researchers working alone or in teams to develop new ideas
and to overcome stumbling blocks. Frontiers of collaborative research that were identified during the workshop include: memory
and analogy mechanisms in creative design processes; computational models of creativity; models of synergy between individuals
and teams to improve performance; ways to build more innovative teams; management and leadership issues in innovation and
creativity; and impacts of disciplinary cultures on transformative work. SRS conducted the second workshop in June 2006, entitled
“Advancing Measures of Innovation: Knowledge Flows, Business Metrics, and Measurement Strategies.” Participants brainstormed
about better measures of innovation and alternative data resources and tools at the national and international levels. They
also focused attention on the need for theoretical frameworks that point to data that should be gathered and models that could
be used for analysis of the data. Lastly, the Division of Social and Economic Sciences sponsored a workshop on “The Social
Organization of Science and Science Policy” in July 2006. Participants examined the social organization and the political,
economic and sociological contexts within which science policy and science succeed or flounder, and the need to develop concepts
that further the understanding of interrelationships between inputs, outcome and policies in the national innovation system.
Since human capital is a critical driver of scientific discovery and innovation, workshop attendees stressed the need for
new strategies and vehicles for the education, training, mobility, and diversity of the STEM workforce. For reports on these
workshops, please see the web sites for each of these SBE divisions (http://nsf.gov/dir/index.jsp?org=SBE). Going forward,
three to six workshops are expected to occur each year. Workshops will create an important medium for the development of future
scholars whose work informs science policy. In year three of this activity there will also be a summative conference, where
leading scholars and policymakers will give their assessments of research findings, identify areas for future research and
draw lessons for future indicators.
Indicator(s):
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