Research on Research

An experiment with Distributed Peer Review
2025-04-23 08:00 - 09:00 UTC
As it becomes increasingly difficult to find experts to carry out peer reviews, the Volkswagen Foundation in Hanover, Germany’s largest research funding organisation, is testing an alternative method: distributed peer review (DPR). In this approach, grant applicants review each other’s proposals. The process could make it easier to find suitable reviewers, especially as there is an incentive for reviewers to participate in order to have their own work considered. Applicants gain insights that could improve their own proposals by receiving more diverse feedback. DPR may also help to bring out more creative and daring research ideas.

While it’s not without challenges, including concerns about workload and potential competition, the early feedback from researchers is promising. Roughly 74% said they trusted the process to be fair in giving funding to the best research, and 70% of respondents said they thought it would help to identify more adventurous grant proposals than those selected by the existing peer review process, which is conducted by panelists appointed by the foundation.

Could this be a model for future grant processes in research funding? Further analysis seeks to answer this question.

Hanna Denecke is a passionate advocate for curiosity-driven research and the transformative power of bold, out-of-the-box ideas. As head of the Exploration team at the Volkswagen Foundation, she is committed to supporting groundbreaking research that has the potential to reshape the future of science and society. With a background in economics and extensive experience in research management, Hanna is keen to identify and promote experimental approaches to research funding and to further the Foundation’s mission of empowering researchers to explore bold, experimental paths that can ultimately transform both science and society.﻿

Do we need a new generation of public institutions for ST&I?
2025-04-30 16:00 - 18:00
Do we need a new generation of public institutions for ST&I?

Public institutions for science and technology have hardly changed over half a century; even the UK’s most recent creation, ARIA, is consciously modelled on a US institution founded in the 1960s. But there is much to learn from other sectors that have innovated far more, including business. The deep institutional conservatism of public science may be one factor behind the continuous decline of R&D productivity.

This talk from Sir Geoff Mulgan, Professor of Collective Intelligence, Public Policy and Social Innovation, UCL STEaPP & Co-founder, The Institutional Architecture Lab (TIAL), will provide a diagnosis, share alternative ways of thinking being used by some governments around the world, and point to a potentially very different institutional landscape for science and technology in the 2030s.

This event will be chaired by James Wilsdon, Professor of Research Policy, UCL & Executive Director, Research on Research Institute.

Anjana Ahuja, Science Commentator at the Financial Times, William Cullerne Bown, Journalist at The Independent and New Scientist, and Ine Steenmans, Associate Professor in Futures, Analysis and Policy at UCL, will join as discussants.

Article in ResearchProfessional covering the seminar

Flashpoints & faultlines in science, technology, engineering & public policy: a STEaPP seminar series

Science, technology and engineering policy has never been more important, nor more contested. Over the next year, UCL’s Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy (STEaPP) will be holding a series of seminars under the umbrella theme of ‘Flashpoints & faultlines in science, technology, engineering and public policy’. These are designed to provoke and stimulate fresh lines of thought, debate and research within the department, across UCL and beyond.

All staff and students in STEaPP are warmly invited to participate, as are colleagues from across UCL with an interest in these topics. The series is being convened by Geoff Mulgan and James Wilsdon, and is being organised with the support of the Research on Research Institute (RoRI), based within STEaPP.

Two-stage versus continuous application processing
2025-05-21 16:00 - 17:00
Curious about how different grant processes shape outcomes for both applicants and funders? In this talk, we share our experiences with continuous and two-stage processes – from shrinking average waiting times by more than 60 % through continuous handling, to reducing overall writing effort by nearly half using a two-stage model.

Our analyses reveal how each approach influences submission patterns, applicant satisfaction, and administrative load. We will present key insights from our evaluations (including comparisons with other funders), highlighting when and why a particular process may be most effective.

More and More and More: why energy transitions are an unhelpful myth
2025-05-27 16:00 - 18:00
Think we’re transitioning to green energy? Think again. Join us for a talk on the history, mythology and politics of energy transitions.

Join us for a compelling discussion with Jean-Baptiste Fressoz, historian and researcher at CNRS & the Alexandre Koyré Center of EHESS in Paris, as he forensically dissects the past and future potential for energy transitions.

Fressoz’s new book More and More and More; an all-consuming history of energy – described by The Economist as ‘necessary, eye-opening and frequently gobsmacking’ – challenges the widely held assumption that our energy history is a linear progression from wood to coal, oil, nuclear, and ultimately to green energy. Instead, he argues that each new phase of energy use remains inextricably linked to its predecessors, creating a complex web of interdependencies.

This seminar, the second in our new series on ‘Flashpoints & faultlines’ will be chaired by Neil Morisetti (Professor of Climate and Resource Security, and Head of the Department for Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy (STEaPP) at UCL, and former UK Government Special Representative for Climate Change).

We will also have contributions from discussants: Dr Bipashyee Ghosh, Lecturer in Engineering, Innovation and Public Policy at STEaPP-UCL, and Oliver Morton (Senior and Briefings Editor, The Economist).

Flashpoints & faultlines in science, technology, engineering & public policy: a STEaPP seminar series

Science, technology and engineering policy has never been more important, nor more contested. Over the next year, UCL’s Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy (STEaPP) will be holding a series of seminars under the umbrella theme of ‘Flashpoints & faultlines in science, technology, engineering and public policy’. These are designed to provoke and stimulate fresh lines of thought, debate and research within the department, across UCL and beyond.

All staff and students in STEaPP are warmly invited to participate, as are colleagues from across UCL with an interest in these topics. The series is being convened by Geoff Mulgan and James Wilsdon, and is being organised with the support of the Research on Research Institute (RoRI), based within STEaPP.

Seminars will take place from 4pm to 5:30pm, on the last Tuesday or Wednesday of the month, and will be followed by an informal drinks and nibbles reception to 6pm. The seminars are held in person as an opportunity to strengthen collaborative links across STEaPP and wider UCL.

Launching Funding by Algorithm: A Handbook for research funders on using AI
2025-06-20 12:00 - 13:00
Join us for the launch of Funding by Algorithm: A handbook for responsible uses of AI and machine learning by research funders – a major new publication from the Research on Research Institute (RoRI).

AI is already transforming research systems around the world. But how can funders make informed, ethical, and effective choices about using AI in their work?

For the last two years, RoRI’s GRAIL project has worked closely with research funders from around the world to understand how funders can responsibly and effectively make use of AI and machine learning technologies in the vital work of research funding and assessment.

Our new handbook Funding by Algorithm distils insights, strategies, and case studies from this global collaboration into a practical, easy-to-use handbook for funders and organisations navigating the fast-changing world of AI in research systems.

At this online launch event, we’ll introduce the handbook, share key lessons from the GRAIL project, and hear reflections from leading research funders already engaging with these technologies. Whether you’re cautious, curious, or already experimenting with AI, this event will offer valuable guidance on how to move forward responsibly.

You will hear from speakers including:

James Wilsdon, Executive Director of the Research on Research Institute

Denis Newman-Griffis, University of Sheffield and GRAIL Project Lead

Katrin Milzow, Swiss National Science Foundation

Jon Holm, Research Council of Norway

Inés Bouzón, “la Caixa” Foundation

Alexandra Apavaloae, Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada

Jennifer Gold, ESRC and UK Metascience Unit

Lidia Borrell-Damian, Science Europe

Metascience 2025 Conference
2025-06-30 08:00 - 2025-07-07 17:00
Save the Date:

June 30 – July 2, 2025University College London

From 30 June to 2 July 2025, the Research on Research Institute (RoRI) and the Center for Open Science (COS) welcomed over 800 researchers, funders, policymakers, and innovators from 65 countries to explore the future of science and research systems.

Metascience 2025 marked one of RoRI’s biggest milestones to date and the largest gathering of the global metascience community. Attendees came from across research, funding, publishing, policy, technology, and related sectors to share evidence, exchange ideas, and reflect on how research systems can be improved.

Metascience 2025 showcased the power of collaboration across the metascience community, leaving a lasting legacy of knowledge, connections, and inspiration for the future of research.

Conference sessions

Watch the main sessions from Metascience 2025, covering policymaking, funding, the science of science, AI, new institutions, and open knowledge infrastructures

See the full story of Metascience 2025 on our Wakelet, featuring photos, media coverage, and highlights from the conference.
