From STI Policy Objectives to Infrastructures
Understanding the Implementation of Directed Challenge-Driven Research Funding
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19487598 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Susanna Vase (0000-0002-5680-7087, University of Helsinki, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 39 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 41-60 |
| Publication date | 2026-02-15 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Science & Technology Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2243-4690 • E-ISSN: 2243-4690 |
| Publisher | Science and Technology Studies (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.23987/sts.112408 |
| OpenAlex | W4401732759 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 25 |
Science, technology and innovation (STI) policy is shaped by the policy instruments used. However, we know relatively little about the work practices of policy actors implementing them. This article investigates how policy objectives are translated into governance by drawing on a case study of the implementation of a ‘Strategic Research’ funding instrument in Finland. The instrument is expected to fulfil a plurality of objectives, calling for solutions to various societal challenges through broad collaboration on research themes that require government approval. I examine the articulation work of the policy actors implementing the funding scheme and identify anticipatory tailoring and the repurposing of templates as central dimensions of this work. I show how the translation of policy objectives into a funding instrument expected to satisfy social worlds from politics to science is historically contingent and challenging. The article contributes with empirical detail into how policy actors managed multiple social worlds while implementing the research funding scheme, and the consequences and tensions that ensued
Articulation (sociology) · Business · Corporate governance · Government (linguistics) · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Repurposing · Sociology · Work (physics) · Engineering · Finance · Innovation Policy and RD · Innovation, Technology, and Society · International Science and Diplomacy · Public Administration
The new production of knowledge
The Research Excellence Framework and the 'impact agenda'
What is societal impact of research and how can it be assessed? a literature survey
Re-thinking new knowledge production
Lifting the smokescreen of science diplomacy
Social structure and organizations
Research evaluation and the assessment of public value
Contextualising the context in policy entrepreneurship and institutional change
Introduction
Shifting in and out of context
Constructing `Do-able' Problems in Cancer Research
On being all things to all people
The temporal dimension of knowledge and the limits of policy appraisal
Epistemological, Artefactual and Interactional–Institutional Foundations of Social Impact of Academic Research
Organizations Evolving
Responsible research and innovation
Qualitative Analysis for Social Scientists
On Staging Work
What's Special about Basic Research
Hybrid Management Configurations in Joint Research
This is Not a Boundary Object
The Iron Cage Revisited
Being there in the flex
Work and the Division of Labor
Institutional Isomorphism Revisited
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |