Constructing vision-driven indicators to enhance the interaction between science and society

Abstract

In this fast-paced modern world, science, technology, and innovation (STI) are key drivers that impact all areas of life at individual and organisational levels, deepening the relationship between science and society. The degree of acceptance and absorption capacity of STI varies across people and organisations within countries as well as at a cross-cultural level. As the values of people and society, in addition to the latter’s structure, are changing, it has been increasingly challenging to identify the aims of policies and the indicators to monitor those policies. When considering the future direction of STI policy, it is important to understand the interrelationships between individuals, society and STI from a policy perspective. In our project, to explore the desirous relationship between science and society, we propose the behavioural changes necessary for actors, such as citizens, policymakers, researchers, the media, and industry. We adopt an experimental ‘participatory’ approach to develop the indicator plan by conducting multiple workshops. This paper introduces our project’s experiment of designing such indicators through ‘vision-driven’ approaches.