James Wilsdon

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...

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

Very happy to announce a partnership between PLOS Biology and @metaror.bsky.social.

Metaresearchers can submit their work to MetaROR, where it will be peer reviewed openly, and can then submit to PLOS Biology, which will evaluate their work based on MetaROR's peer review reports.

The peer-review crisis: how to fix an overloaded system Journals and funders are trying to boost the speed and effectiveness of review processes that are under strain.

Excellent news piece in @nature.com providing an overview of ongoing discussions about the organization of peer review in funding allocation and scientific publishing doi.org/10.1038/d415....

@rorinstitute.bsky.social @cwts.nl

Life Sciences Sector Plan The Life Sciences Sector Plan sets out a vision and an action plan to drive growth, innovation, and better health outcomes.

The life sciences sector plan is now out, part of the wider industrial strategy. Lots in there, but I think interesting to see how it illustrates how the Science Minister’s “three buckets” doctrine of science and innovation policy might play out...
www.gov.uk/government/p...

Metascience can improve science — but it must be useful to society, too Researchers studying research must avoid the temptation to get too stuck in the academic weeds.

Science of science has been used to improve research integrity and assessment.
Last week I spoke at #metascience2025 calling on the community to look further, to improve interdisciplinarity, trust in science & more

Our editorial adds more 🧪

@jameswilsdon.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Metascience’s big tent 🏕️

Some reflections from @scurry.bsky.social and @jameswilsdon.bsky.social after hosting #Metascience2025 last week - as we all continue digesting the insights and engaging with the interesting post-conference discussions: www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-poli...

Metascience’s big tent. Some initial post-conference reflections from me & @jameswilsdon.bsky.social on lessons from #metascience2025, though there’s much still to digest.

Free to read link: www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-poli...

Metascience can improve science — but it must be useful to society, too Researchers studying research must avoid the temptation to get too stuck in the academic weeds.

Nature editorial on the launch of the Metascience Alliance and the need to meet the moment: "Metascience is coming of age [during] phenomenal change: AI is transforming science rapidly; research budgets are being squeezed..science is being politicized and attacked."

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

Metascience’s challenge is to keep its big tent intact: a few final reflections on #Metascience2025 by
@scurry.bsky.social & me in @resprofnews.bsky.social

www.researchprofessional.com/0/rr/news/po...

@briannosek.bsky.social

UK metascience unit releases first results Government research finds distributed peer review a positive for grant applications

My latest for @cenmag.bsky.social:

cen.acs.org/policy/resea...

@ludowaltman.bsky.social, @jameswilsdon.bsky.social

Metascience can improve science — but it must be useful to society, too Researchers studying research must avoid the temptation to get too stuck in the academic weeds.

‘Metascience can improve science — but it must be useful to society, too’. Good, thoughtful editorial in @nature.com on #Metascience2025 & the new Alliance

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

@helenpearson.bsky.social @magdalenaskipper.bsky.social @briannosek.bsky.social

Another interesting take on the #metascience2025 conference. Have been intrigued by the diversity of reactions – arising in part, I presume, because people took different paths through the many parallel sessions and brought different experiences & expectations to the meeting.

Some real insights into what metascience is, in these reflections from ‪@tomstafford.mastodon.online.ap.brid.gy‬

Includes some meta-metascience as he considers whether metascience should be seen as a discipline.

www.ukrn.org/2025/07/04/e...

Why I'm more optimistic than others about metascience (or metaresearch)

(I wanted to write up some thoughts on #metascience2025 but I just don't have the time so this thread will have to do.)

100% agree with Dr. Nosek that metascience should not become a discipline; back in 2023 it was call a "movement" and this year @jameswilsdon.bsky.social and others called it a "discourse coalition".
All the discourse that wants to gather under this label should do so imo.
bsky.app/profile/bria...

Remembering Mario Biagioli, who articulated how scholarly metrics lead to fraud Mario Biagioli Mario Biagioli, a distinguished professor of law and communication at the University of California, Los Angeles — and a pioneering thinker about how academic reward systems incentivi…

"Remembering Mario Biagioli, who articulated how scholarly metrics lead to fraud"

retractionwatch.com/2025/07/03/r...

One instinct that I keep is a hope that metascience does not become a discipline of its own.

Disciplines get too monocultural and self-referential. The most exciting part of metascience is that it feels a bit disorienting because of the diversity in discipline, sectors, assumptions coming together.

An interesting conceptualization of the metascience space, not at all how I have organized it in my head.

What *is* metascience? Issues, inclusion and future public value - Warren's blog: Publics, politics, science and technology This week, the biennial Metascience Conference came to London’s “Knowledge Quarter” with around 800 participants from a wide range of roles, including researchers, librarians, research funders, publis...

After two really enjoyable days at #Metascience2025, I wrote about how one 🌶️ moment encapsulated the controversy over metascience's issues 📑, inclusivity 🤗and future public value 🔮 #STS #AcademicSky

All feedback welcome on here, or by email 😀

warrenpearce.pika.page/posts/what-i...

🙏🏻 thanks Ryuichi — and sorry we didn’t get a chance to talk more! I was v. pleased that Ueyama-sensei was able to join us, so we could give more profile to ongoing & potential developments in Japanese metascience!

These are important observations. It is completely natural and understandable that a big umbrella like "metascience" comes in different "strands." I prefer to consciously include them. That is *not* to say they all have to be represented in a single conference. #metascience2025

Apollonian and Dionysian Metascience Quick reflections on the two different cultures driving metascience research

this is v interesting Ryuichi! Strikes me as a more complex version of the distinction drawn by @stianwestlake.bsky.social between Apollonian & Dionysian branches of metascience magicsmoke.substack.com/p/apollonian...

YouTube video by NBC Digital News THE DAILY ROUNDUP WITH NINA | NCRST advances Metascience for better policy - nbc

For me, Kelvin Katukula Mubiana of Namibia’s NCRST was one of the stars of #Metascience2025. Here he is doing an interview about the conference on the NBC (Namibia’s state broadcaster) youtu.be/ZByH9Ni2VJ8?...

thanks Jon for this v thoughtful thread! Lots to reflect on now it’s over. But first, sleep..!

🎉 That’s a wrap on Metascience 2025!

Three packed days of ideas, debates, and community - and we’re still buzzing from it all.

We’re grateful to all who spoke, chaired, presented, posted, and participated for making #Metascience2025 such a dynamic gathering 🌍