Deciding about Future Science: How Scientists Can Collectively Set Research Priorities in the Era of Big Sciencecore
DECIDE · Horizon Europe grant · 2026-07-01–2031-06-30
EC contribution
Total cost
Beneficiaries
About the data
Source: CORDIS (official EU open data), Horizon Europe. Framework HORIZON · call ERC-2025-STG · scheme HORIZON-ERC · topic ERC-2025-STG. CORDIS record →
Objective
Since World War II, we have entered the era of ‘big science’. Experiments in the natural sciences today can involve hundreds or thousands of scientists, they generate enormous amounts of empirical data and they require ever larger instruments. The associated cost of experiments has unsurprisingly also soared. Personal research funds or smaller research grants no longer suffice to fund certain experiments; instead, they require significant financial support from multiple government agencies over a long period of time. Because of this increase in costs, scientists have had to change how they decide what experiments to pursue. The central research question of this project is therefore: how can scientists make optimal decisions about what future experiments to pursue, given the scale of experiments and the limited available resources?To answer this research question, the project will follow the approach of integrated history and philosophy of science. Through a careful study of the history of one of the most influential procedures for scientific funding decisions, the US Astronomy Decadal Survey, this project will: (i) trace the origins of current procedures for collective decision-making in science; (ii) investigate how these procedures have impacted the development of scientific research, specifically on the post-World War II history of astronomy, astrophysics and cosmology; (iii) formulate a novel philosophical account on what makes an experiment pursuitworthy; and (iv) apply current insights from social epistemology on collective knowledge-making and values and science to a new context, collective setting of research priorities. Aside from its impact in history and philosophy of science, this project will have implications for the natural sciences by recommending revisions to current strategies for the setting of future research priorities. More broadly, this project will establish the nascent discipline of philosophy of astronomy and astrophysics in Europe.
Beneficiaries (1)
| Organisation | Country | Role | EC contribution | SME |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| STOCKHOLMS UNIVERSITET | SE | coordinator | €1,439,198 |
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