Description du projet
Étude de la dynamique organisationnelle des consortiums scientifiques internationaux
Les consortiums scientifiques internationaux occupent une place de plus en plus centrale dans les efforts déployés pour relever les défis mondiaux tels que la réponse aux grandes urgences sanitaires, le développement de nouvelles sources d’énergie propres et la préservation de notre environnement. Alors que ces consortiums sont de plus en plus importants, notre compréhension de leurs dynamiques organisationnelles distinctes a pris du retard. Les consortiums scientifiques internationaux sont des organisations complexes où le travail est géographiquement dispersé et implique divers groupes de parties prenantes issus du monde universitaire, du gouvernement et de l’industrie. Par conséquent, il existe un besoin pressant d’une nouvelle théorie organisationnelle qui fera progresser notre compréhension de ces consortiums. INSCONS, financé par l’UE, incarne une tentative ambitieuse de répondre à ce besoin en étudiant les structures organisationnelles et l’histoire de trois grands consortiums dans la recherche sur la fusion nucléaire, la biomédecine et les géosciences.
Objectif
INSCONS is a groundbreaking, large-scale examination of the organisational dynamics of international scientific consortia (ISCs) and the interactions of these consortia with broader scientific communities, national bureaucracies, and industry. ISCs are very complex organisations with work being carried out at geographically dispersed sites, and involving international stakeholder groups from across the realms of science, policy, and industry. As these ISCs are becoming more important in efforts to address global challenges in areas such as health, the environment, and clean energy, our understanding of the distinctive organizational dynamics governing these consortia has lagged behind. Accordingly, there is a pressing need for novel organisational theory and frameworks that will advance our understanding of ISCs. INSCONS is an ambitious effort to address this need, using a comparative, interdisciplinary approach. Three case studies of large, international ISCs in nuclear fusion research, biomedicine, and the geosciences are at the core of INSCONS. The INSCONS project will examine four aspects of these ISCs. It will 1) Map the internal organisational dynamics of ISCs using interviews, bibliometric network analyses, and ethnographic field studies on everyday work in ISCs. 2) It will study ISCs’ interactions with the broader scientific community by conducting a survey among researchers in the scholarly fields ISCs operate in, and by analysing these fields’ co-authorship networks. 3) It will examine the (inter)national political processes and bureaucratic wrangling shaping ISCs. 4) It will examine relationships of dependency and influence between ISCs and industry through case studies as well as analyses of patenting and publication activities. Taken together, the project outputs of INSCONS will bring into clear focus the sociology and politics, as well as the operational complexities that govern this important, new organisational form in contemporary science.
Champ scientifique
Mots‑clés
Programme(s)
Régime de financement
ERC-COG - Consolidator GrantInstitution d’accueil
WC1E 6BT London
Royaume-Uni