Societal targeting in researcher funding: An exploratory approach through dimensions and interactions

Abstract

Shaping public research to enhance its societal contribution has become a key policy concern. Against this background, how research funding may stimulate the societal orientation of scientific research has been underexplored. This paper proposes a two-fold exploratory approach both to characterize and observe societal targeting in individual researcher funding. First, stemming from literature, policy and practices, we select four key societal targeting dimensions: interdisciplinarity, transdisciplinarity, prioritized research problems and user-oriented outputs. All these targeting dimensions of funding can potentially shape both research networks and practices towards societal goals. These dimensions may be identified in context through ex ante specifications of funding instruments, in rules and conditions for funding provision to researchers. Second, we also consider potential interactions of funding instruments, since researchers may engage with various instruments simultaneously when conducting their research. Therefore, each researcher funding configuration at a moment in time may generate bespoke shaping of research, depending on the societal targeting dimensions present and whether funding is co-used to support different research topics and activities within a researcher’s portfolio. The combination of the targeting dimensions and their potential interactions would allow for empirical exploration at different scales and in diverse settings. They expand our understanding of funding use dynamics that might shape research. This systematic perspective on funding instrument characteristics and their configurational possibilities will be relevant to assess the role of funding in research evaluation. We conclude with both policy implications of this exploratory societal targeting approach to funding and suggestions to expand it in further research.