James Wilsdon

This proposes a way of using AI agents to produce research. Ok. But this bit is a pipe dream: "And human scientists should retain authority over — and responsibility for — framing the question, validating the path and signing off on conclusions." Here's why...
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RoRI welcomes ZonMw and the British Academy as Core Partners - Research on Research We are pleased to announce two new Core Partners: ZonMw, the Dutch Organisation for knowledge and innovation in health, healthcare […]

Delighted to welcome to @rorinstitute.bsky.social

—> ZonMw, the NL funder of innovation in health & well-being;
—> The British Academy @britishacademy.bsky.social, the UK national academy for humanities & social sciences

Now 21 core partners in 13 countries

researchonresearch.org/rori-welcome...

Understanding the importance of SHAPE to the UK research ecosystem - MetaROR

🇬🇧 Our latest paper "uses broad bibliometrics to compare the STEM and SHAPE sectors over time in the UK, with comparisons to other countries"

Reviewers find it timely & useful, yet suggest a different analytical approach as well as a tighter definition of SHAPE

👇 Find the full evaluation on MetaROR

Looking forward to lots of lively metascience discussion on the new @rorinstitute.bsky.social substack. Read my inaugural post to find out what we’re up to.

📢 New RoRI Working Paper: Does targeted research funding reshape research landscapes?

New RoRI evidence from Norway and Switzerland suggests shifts in research topics are gradual - and similar under both targeted and non-targeted funding: researchonresearch.org/does-targete...

RoRI’s Seunghyun Lee and @jameswilsdon.bsky.social joined discussions at the OECD Global Science Forum in Paris on rethinking research assessment & incentives.

Assessment reform is moving to the centre of research policy debates; read the full write-up here: researchonresearch.org/rethinking-r...

More detail here:

made me laugh!

“We’re not ditching culture”, says Helen
Cross. “But we want to reset the conversation and the words got in the way.” #REF2029

Now Helen Cross from SFC sets out the rest of the #REF2029 timetable

www.icehockeysystems.com/hockey-drill...

Now Lord Vallance is back on his ‘three buckets’ theory of R&D funding

Here’s @ersatzben.com on the ‘3-bucket problem’ www.ersatzben.com/p/the-three-...

Bucketism now the frontier of R&I policy. “We must defend the first bucket” says the Minister.

A rallying cry to echo down the ages #REF2029

Now Lord Vallance joining the dots between #REF2029 reforms and wider UK R&I priorities

“We’re out of the pause. It’s back to business as usual. We’re moving forward with #REF2029” concludes Jessica Corner.

And indeed, it’s a classic REF compromise!

So farewell ‘People, Culture & Environment’…

And hello ‘Strategy, People & Research Environment’, or SPRE to her friends.

25% more words; 5% less weight… #REF2029

At @universities-uk.bsky.social where Dame Jessica Corner is gearing up for the big REF reveal! #REF2029

🇬🇧 Big news for UK metascience: the government is trebling the UK Metascience Unit’s budget to £49m.

"This represents a resounding vote of confidence in the value and opportunities of metascience to improve the way the UK funds, manages and evaluates research", says RoRI's @jameswilsdon.bsky.social

The panel at today’s RoRi and STEaPP seminar at Wellcome on ‘science in a populist age’.

UCL’s @geoffmulgan.bsky.social kicks off tonight’s seminar on ‘Science in a populist age’ at @wellcometrust.bsky.social, with a stellar line-up inc @helenpearson.bsky.social @senseaboutsci.bsky.social @alokjha.bsky.social. We’ll post the video online soon. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/science-ad...

Distributed Peer Review – How the wisdom of the crowd can allocate grant funding - Impact of Social Sciences New research shows engaging the applicants in funding review processes can resolve and reframe many issues facing peer review.

👀Interesting to see the budget earlier this week confirming funding for @ukri.org trial of #DistributedPeerReview, we featured a post from @rorinstitute.bsky.social discussing their recent work on the subject back in September 👇

A year in metascience (2025) Report outlining the first year of the Metascience Unit, with evidence and insights on how to improve the UK’s research and innovation funding system.

yes see here for an overview of their work in their first year of operations www.gov.uk/government/p...

(also my only friend who is now a wonderfully-titled Rector Magnificus! I wonder how often that one comes up in those drop-down title boxes in online forms?!) @ludowaltman.bsky.social

Alongside her many achievements and contributions, Sarah was one of four co-founders of @rorinstitute.bsky.social, & former co-chair of our Board. She was central to shaping RoRI — and to our ongoing, deep partnership with CWTS. Congratulations again, @sarahderijcke.nl! 🎉

Sarah de Rijcke appointed Rector Magnificus of Leiden University Professor Sarah de Rijcke will become the new Rector Magnificus on the Executive Board of Leiden University on 15 January 2026. She will succeed Professor Hester Bijl, who will become Rector Magnificu...

Huge congratulations to @sarahderijcke.nl on her appointment as Rector Magnificus @unileiden.bsky.social! Sarah is a brilliant scholar, a visionary & compassionate leader. I’m excited to see her channel her experience, wisdom & insight into this vital role www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2025...

The four-fold drain of scientific publishing: Money, Time, Trust, and Control.

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk 🎤

If you’ve read this far and still need convincing, please check out our preprint arxiv.org/abs/2511.04820 and this infographic: doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
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Join RoRI Co-Chair @ludowaltman.bsky.social in Cambridge on 3 Dec, where he'll be a keynote at a forum exploring the Publish, Review, Curate model.

The event will showcase initiatives and discuss how this model can shape the future of scholarly communication: coar-repositories.org/news-updates...

Research assessment: a round-up for early-career researchers Confused by research evaluation and its potential impact on career progression? Here are some pointers as to how things work in different parts of the world.

Research assessment: a round-up

Excellent survey of the assessment landscape by @hollyelse.bsky.social in @nature.com, including our recent work @rorinstitute.bsky.social with the Global Research Council.

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

@alexrushforth.bsky.social @prussianhippie.bsky.social

New in @nature.com: Funding the Frontier, an AI tool to map & predict research impacts.

The piece cites RoRI's @jameswilsdon.bsky.social, who warns such algorithms risk reinforcing past successes over future potential: www.nature.com/articles/d41...

🧠 Does STI policy need a strategic brain?

Join us next Tuesday at UCL for a talk by @stianwestlake.bsky.social (Executive Chair, @ukri.org ESRC) on the future of UK R&D, with responses from @britishacademy.bsky.social's Molly Morgan Jones & UCL’s Sarah Chaytor: tinyurl.com/vekzka23

@rorinstitute.bsky.social @geoffmulgan.bsky.social @hetanshah.bsky.social

Does STI policy need a strategic brain? A seminar on how metascience might sharpen investment decisions across the UK’s research system

Does STI policy need a strategic brain?

Join us at 5pm on 30 Sept for a talk by @stianwestlake.bsky.social, Executive Chair, ESRC @ukri

Hosted by STEaPP-UCL & RoRI, w/ responses by @britishacademy.bsky.social’s Molly Morgan-Jones & UCL’s Sarah Chaytor

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/does-sti-p...