Research Policy

Abstract

Danish research policy has changed significantly since the turn of the millennium. From being a slow and pragmatic adopter of international research policy ideas, Denmark has become a research policy frontrunner and—in some respects—an international role model. This chapter examines the Danish trajectory using an analytical framework highlighting inherent tensions in the formulation and implementation of research policies. It shows that the Danish development has accentuated output-based conceptions of research quality and societal impact and that political objectives have been backed by path-breaking reforms and massive investments. While this development can be characterized as a success, it has also led to a strict compartmentalization of different research policy aims and has happened at the expense of alternative, emerging research policy visions. The most dominant of these operate with more process-oriented research policy conceptions concerned with practices that support transparency, inclusivity, and integrity as mechanisms for enhancing both the epistemic quality of scientific knowledge claims and the societal impact of science. Recently, such conceptions have become prominent at both the EU level and in countries such as the Netherlands and Norway. But so far, Danish decision-makers have been reluctant to integrate these new visions in national research policy.