Research portfolios in support of societal challenges: concepts and quantitative tools.

1. Research portfolios in support of societal challenges:
concepts, data and analysis
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Matthew L. Wallace · INGENIO (CSIC-UPV)
Ismael Rafols · INGENIO (CSIC-UPV) · SPRU (University of Sussex)
CASRAI ReConnect Conference
Ottawa, November 19-21, 2014

2. OUTLINE
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Can ‘research portfolios’ help allocate resources to
tackle grand societal challenges?
1. What do (and what can) research portfolios mean?
 Looking at current practices and moving beyond a
‘financial’ model
2. Case study: avian influenza as a ‘societal challenge’
 Understanding a research landscape to inform portfolio
design

3. DRIVERS FOR PORTFOLIO-LEVEL ANALYSIS
• Central problem: perceived mismatch between research
and desired outcomes
• Responding to current policy demands in grand societal
challenges
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• Tackling large-scale, multi-stakeholder issues
• Transparency, accountability, cost-effectiveness, etc.
• Seeking out alternative research avenues spawning new
solutions.
BUT… What ‘baggage’ does the term already have
for science policy?

4. ‘TYPICAL’ R&D PORTFOLIOS
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5. CURRENT PUBLIC SECTOR PRACTICES
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6. POLICY “PULL” AND SCIENCE “PUSH”…
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Making explicit connections between
research options and societal outcomes

7. BROAD VIEWS OF OUTCOMES AND OPTIONS…
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(Figure adapted from Stirling & Scoones, 2009)
Moving towards a broad set of outcomes
and acknowledging high uncertainty

8. SYNERGIES, COMPLEMENTARITIES…
Looking for potential positive interactions based on the
existing research landscape
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9. AVIAN FLU AS A CASE STUDY
Funding and publications
Avian influenza funding by main funding
agencies ($M), from ÜberResearch data
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Main avian flu and swine flu
strain articles (PubMed)

10. AVIAN FLU AS A CASE STUDY
Debates on research, outcomes and values
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11. THE RESEARCH LANDSCAPE
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Network of terms and clusters from abstracts of avian influenza
publications (2004-2013), mapped according to co-occurrence

12. RESEARCH APPROACHES AND OBJECTS
Virology as a WoS subject category
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13. RESEARCH APPROACHES AND OBJECTS
“Virology” as a Medical Subject Heading qualifier
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14. MAPPING EXISTING INFLUENZA PORTFOLIOS
GlaxoSmithKline
(Influenza A, 2010-12)
Welcome Trust
(Influenza A, 2010-12)
Canadian Institutes for
Health Research
(Influenza A, 2010-12)
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Maps generated from overlays of funding data in Web of Knowledge
onto the ‘landscape’ of Influenza A research overall

15. AVIAN FLU IN THE CONTEXT OF PORTFOLIO DESIGN
• Public debates, different research pathways highlight the
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need for diversity
• We can tentatively identify some dominant lines of
research: epidemiology, molecular biology, immunology…
• We can see where connections lie: e.g., very few
connections between epidemiology and virology
• We can see how different portfolios reflect (or not)
priorities of funders

16. CONCLUSION
Our (modest) claim:
Research portfolio approaches can be useful for better
understanding current resource allocation for problem-driven
research and for facilitating policy deliberations
• We need to clarify what we mean by “portfolio”
• Portfolio lens has the potential to help tackle complex
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societal problems:
– Move beyond “excellence”,
– Inform diversification
– Recognize multiple outcomes, promote inclusive policy process
• Mapping from bibliometric (or funding) data can be useful,
– But cannot produce a “one-dimensional”, prescriptive view
– Data remains scarce!

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