Research knowledge to support decision-making: Communication and interaction play a key role

(5 Dec 2012)

The Academy of Finland's report The State of Scientific Research in Finland 2012 encourages policy-makers and public administration to better take advantage of research knowledge. It also recommends activities to promote open access to research knowledge produced by means of public funding. Minister of Education and Science Jukka Gustafsson is in favour of these ideas. “Public administration benefits from scientific research carried out, not only within the relevant field of administration, but in any field,” says Gustafsson.

“If we consider the field of the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, for example, we see that research and studies concerning university policies, changes in population structures or economic prognoses are directly applicable to the policies of the Ministry. Results from other fields of research, ranging from molecular genetics to language technologies or from music education to particle physics, are essential when preparing the Ministry’s opinions and statements regarding different issues,” explains Minister Gustafsson, who is in charge of matters related to science and research in Finland.

Communication and direct contacts

According to Minister Gustafsson, it is possible to utilise research knowledge more actively in policy-making, but it calls for an active approach and actions by all parties involved. 

“I'd like research groups and projects to consider parties outside the academic community more extensively when targeting their communications. On the other hand, there is room for improvement in terms of civil servants’ capabilities to find those sources of information that are most essential and significant for policy-making.”

“Furthermore, the providers and users of information could jointly discuss whether it is possible or necessary to create new structures to safeguard the flow of information and what such structures would entail,” proposes Gustafsson.

“In my role as a Member of Parliament, I gained positive experiences from direct cooperation and interaction with university professors and researchers. For more than four decades, the society for parliament members and scientists, Tutkas, has served as a shared forum for policy-makers and researchers to connect and exchange information, thus contributing to the progress of science policy planning and decision-making. It's vital for the Tutkas forum to renew itself and keep pace with the schedules and topics of scientific work and social policy-making.”

Gustafsson has positive experiences of campus cooperation as well. “For example, Lappeenranta University of Technology and Saimaa Polytechnic are engaged in natural cooperation in the field of scientific research and dissemination of results. I believe that this type of cooperation will also enhance the social impact of universities and institutions of higher education.”

Towards open access to data

Minister Gustafsson advocates strongly the idea of open access to research data produced by means of public funding.

“At last, the materials and databases generated by means of public funding, and the possibilities offered by them, interest all essential stakeholders to such a degree that this issue is being promoted both nationally and internationally! Researchers have become more active, and the public administration has also come to see the significance of openness.”

“As we graduate towards open access, there are many aspects that need to be taken into consideration,” he points out. It is important to agree upon procedures for storing research materials and information in such a manner that they can be easily located when needed in response to future issues. We must monitor international developments and take part in preparations in order to ensure the compatibility of the systems and procedures. It is also necessary to develop the tools and methods required for the use of information. Furthermore, there are issues related to immaterial rights that need to be considered.

Minister Gustafsson has initiated the Research Data Project for the purpose of processing the multitude of practical aspects related to the openness of data. The project aims at finding structures and solutions that will best promote the harmonisation, storage and availability of databases. A central player in this project is the IT Centre for Science (CSC), which also coordinates a major European scientific data infrastructure project within the EU 7th Framework Programme.

An investment in the future of the nation

The promotion of open access to data is also a cost issue. What are the costs of open data at the system implementation stage? What costs will be accrued from the maintenance of the system? How will these costs be covered? These issues, among other things, must be resolved.

“Open doesn't mean free of charge. Already today, researchers have free access to various data sources, but there's always some party that has paid for them,” Gustafsson says.

He finds, however, that the promotion of openness is worth investing in. According to The State of Scientific Research in Finland 2012, Finland possesses internationally unique information that is produced by means of public funding, and open access to this information will benefit citizens and society at large, as well as provide an advantage for research in many fields.

Original Finnish text by Paula Böhling
Photos by Janne Suhonen/STT-Lehtikuva/Prime Minister's Office