Public accountability and the politicization of science: The peculiar journey of Czech research assessment

In recent decades, research has undergone major changes, resulting in radical shifts in patterns of governance. In this process, external forms of research assessment have developed as a proxy for researchers' and research institutions' accountability to society. In this paper we focus on...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science & public policy 2012-10, Vol.39 (5), p.618-629
Main Authors: Linkova, M., Stockelova, T.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accountability
Czech Republic
Experts
Governance
Politicization
Professional ethics
Research policy
Science
Scientific research
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Summary:In recent decades, research has undergone major changes, resulting in radical shifts in patterns of governance. In this process, external forms of research assessment have developed as a proxy for researchers' and research institutions' accountability to society. In this paper we focus on the developments of research assessment in the Czech Republic. First, we trace the trajectory of accountability measures in the socio-historical contexts of post-socialist science as a tool of not only evaluating but also de-politicizing and re-politicizing research. Second, we focus on the active participation of scientists in the introduction of research assessment into national research policy. Closely related is our third concern, namely the emergence of and clashes between two different accountability frameworks in/of science: (internal) professional accountability and (external) managerial accountability. Our findings underscore the ambiguous, messy and fluid nature of research assessment and the inability to totalize its effects.
ISSN:0302-3427
1471-5430
DOI:10.1093/scipol/scs039