LUCIS' commitment to the NWA
LUCIS is well connected to the Dutch National Research Agenda (Nationale Wetenschapsagenda/NWA). Both Petra Sijpesteijn and Jan Michiel Otto have a seat in the preparatory committees of two NWA routes. Other LUCIS members are involved as well. The themes of the NWA will be an important driver in future funding.
LUCIS is well represented in two route workshops of the Dutch National Research Agenda (NWA): Petra Sijpesteijn, director of LUCIS, has a seat in the preparatory committee of the NWA route Veerkrachtige en zinvolle samenlevingen ("Resilient and meaningful societies"), and Jan Michiel Otto, board member of LUCIS, chaired a workshop on 9 March dedicated to formulating scientific priorities in the field of conflict and law for the additional NWA route Sustainable Development Goals.
Why a Dutch National Research Agenda?
At the end of 2014 the ministries of Education, Culture and Science and of Economic Affairs assigned the so-called knowledge coalition (Kenniscoalitie) the task to develop a Dutch National Research Agenda in response to a public consultation (see the Dutch government's Wetenschapsvisie 2025).
The reasoning behind this was the idea that The Netherlands needs to develop research priorities that are more closely connected to the needs of society and industry in order to achieve maximum societal research impact. This has resulted in a collection of 11.656 questions during a one-month public consultation process that closed on 1 May 2015.
Development of the NWA
In May 2015, five academic juries assessed and clustered the submitted questions, as a result of which they have been brought together in 248 overarching questions, In June 2015, three conferences were organised in which the participants, involving academics as well as representatives of industry and the public sector, determined which questions are especially relevant for academia (Science for Science), for the Dutch economy (Science for Competitiveness) and for society (Science for Society).
The conferences formed the starting point for a dialogue in which knowledge institutions, companies and civil society organisations were invited to enter into a discussion with the posers of questions and other interested parties.
Through this process, the knowledge coalition defined 140 cluster questions and 16 exemplary routes, which connect the different parties involved and address various themes from different disciplinary angles.
Route workshops
In March, April and May 2016 route workshops are organised in which representatives of the three target groups (academia, industry and civil society) are invited to further define the focus and implementation of the routes and to give input on propositions that describe the scientific, societal and economic impact that should come out of them. Before the 1st of June the propositions for each exemplary route should be finished, so they can be used by the knowledge coalition to determine the direction of their funding programmes.
Next to the 16 exemplary routes additional routes have been submitted, including one about Sustainable Development Goals initiated by NWO-WOTRO Science for Global Development. For an interview (in Dutch) with Jan Michiel Otto on the importance of including the Sustainable Development Goals in the NWA, click here.