Evaluating the Social Impact of Science: A Working Session with CIC bioGUNE
Last Friday, ALC held a working session with CIC bioGUNE as part of the research on the social impact of Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) policies in the Basque Country. This meeting is part of the listening process aimed at identifying the narratives and perceptions of the various stakeholders within the Basque scientific ecosystem.
The session was attended by 12 researchers, including Emerging Scientists and Research Assistants. These latter positions represent new intermediate roles designed and tested by CIC bioGUNE to consolidate and provide sustainability to the research career path.
The meeting allowed for a deeper exploration of the system's current challenges and how the evolution of these policies since the 1980s has shaped the reality of research centers and the scientific career in the Basque Country today.
"The loss of resources invested in training is enormous; especially in their 40s, people move to the private sector or industry because they offer better pay and more stable conditions."
Main Findings:
- Sustainability of the Research Career: A high level of burnout was identified among talent due to precarious research conditions and a lack of stability. Teams pointed out that scientific vocation is often forced to compensate for a high-pressure system driven by short-term funding cycles.
- Cultural Integration of Science: Participants highlighted that science is not yet perceived by Basque society as an intrinsic part of its culture (unlike industry). As a result, society tends to value it solely for its economic profitability, overlooking its social and cultural contributions.
- Transfer and "Bridge" Profiles: There is a time gap between excellence-based research and industry. The need for intermediate roles was emphasized to facilitate the connection between knowledge generation and its practical application (for example, the communication and transfer roles and teams that have been tested in other systems, such as the Catalan model).
- System Complexity: The fragmentation of the Basque research ecosystem and the bureaucratic burden of current evaluation processes were identified as barriers that drain time away from actual research activities.
Listening to centers like CIC bioGUNE allows us to understand the day-to-day reality of science in our territory. These reflections will serve to propose strategies that not only pursue technical excellence but also place the well-being of researchers and their social impact at the heart of the Basque Country's strategy.