Program Supervisor

YAMAGATA Zentaro
Professor, Department of Health Sciences, Basic Science for Clinical Medicine,Division of Medicine, Graduate School Department of Interdisciplinary Research,
University of Yamanashi
Today Japan is experiencing a population decline as well as the aging of its society with the decrease in the birthrate. Moreover, fiscal conditions are tight. In this context, Japan will be able to continue to achieve steady development in the future only if it pursues innovation through the advancement of science and technology. However, in recent years?and especially since the Great East Japan Earthquake?science and technology as well as its researchers have been viewed harshly. Critics say that, despite the vast amount of funds invested in R&D, the outcomes are not helping to resolve the challenges that society faces.
Indeed, in science, technology and innovation (STI) policy to date, problems have been encountered not infrequently. Sometimes R&D investment has been made without adequate objective evidence. Other times, although great insights have been gained through basic research, the research outcomes have not been applied in an effective fashion so that they lead to innovations or the creation of systems to resolve challenges and advance society. Yet other times, outstanding policy ideas have been conceived, but they have not been implemented due to insufficient communication with the public. The root cause of this was the absence of clear, evidence-based methods to create STI policy.
To remedy this situation, our program aims to develop methods to formulate the following kinds of policies;
- Policies that will lead to the resolution of real challenges by advancing the basic research and applying the research outcomes to the challenges and
- Policies that will promote the innovation of society by drawing on basic research.
In this endeavor, it will be critical
- To design a multistage process from basic research, to social application of outcomes, to evaluation of that application;
- To develop methods for measuring the economic and social impact of R&D investment;
- To build an effective research framework to form policies based on objective evidence; and
- To ensure proper communication among policy makers, the scientific community and the public in order to promote the application of research findings in society.
This program is diverse in content and is expected to produce more concrete proposals. We look forward to seeing outstanding proposals with flexible thinking that deserves " Science of STI policy".
Objective of the Program
To contribute over the medium to long term to evidence-based policy formation in the area of STI through the following approaches;
- Promoting R&D projects on new analytic methodologies, models, data-systematization tools and aggregate indicators that can be used in actual policy,
- Increasing the number of researchers who work on this challenge in a wide range of disciplines and interdisciplinary fields, and expanding the community network through public relations and dialogue on the activities.
Targeted R&D Projects
This program targets R&D on methodologies and indicators in the four categories below (including projects that address them in a multidisciplinary or comprehensive way)
Outcomes of R&D projects will be sought that can be used in forming actual policies of the national and local governments or in making policy proposals of various actors.
- Designing and implementing of a strategic framework for forming overall STI policy;
- Measuring the social and economic impact of R&D investment and making it visible to the public
- Assessing and designing optimal system (organization, framework, etc) for promoting STI policy, and the impact of the system on the STI process; and
- Designing and implementing dialogue to promote the participation of members of society in STI policy formulation
R&D Projects
Projects Phase 3
FY2022
FY2021
Development of Digital Twin city system and its application to the policy making under risk management environment |
2021.10-2025.3 |
---|---|
Policy Proposal for Environmental Circulation and Social Symbiosis through the Use of Woody Thermal Energy and Community Currency |
2021.10-2025.3 |
An Integrated Analysis on Infection Control and Economic Activity |
2021.10-2025.3 |
The effect of the quality of preschool education on children's cognitive- and noncognitive skills |
2021.10-2025.3 |
Development and Deployment of a Value Chain Assessment Tools for the Commercialization of University Technologies |
2021.10-2025.3 |
Establishment of the Guidelines for the Common Understanding of Research Integrity in Life Science |
2021.10-2025.3 |
Clarification of research integrity norms in diverse research disciplines |
2021.10-2025.3 |
Projects Phase 2
*Affiliations and positions are those that applied at the completion of the project.
FY2020
FY2019
Research on scientific evidence based policy making process for infrastructure management |
2019.10-2023.3 |
---|---|
Co-procurement of clinical knowledge in support of developmental disabilities based on citizen science and personal data |
2019.10-2023.3 |
Forecasting of Social Impact by 'Atsumi' Analysis of Research Capability and Development of Policy Assessment Methods |
2019.10-2023.3 |
An Evaluation of Social Acceptance and Value Creation for Science, Technology, and Innovation |
2019.10-2023.3 |
Developing data ethics standards for responsible innovation |
2019.10-2023.3 |
FY2018
Research on Constructing Open Data for Policies to Reduce Child Poverty |
2018.10-2022.3 |
---|---|
Healthcare Innovation driven by Effective Hospital-bed Reductions and Urban Planning |
2018.10-2022.3 |
The construction of a commons utilizing ICT to generate evidence for medical policy |
2018.10-2022.3 |
Biology-informed, family-friendly policies against declining birth rate in Japan |
2018.10-2022.3 |
FY2017
System design to introduce energy-saving equipment for reinforcement of resilience |
2017.10-2022.3 |
---|---|
A Metasystem Approach to Regulatory Rule Making on Advanced Medicine |
2017.10-2021.9 |
Star Scientists and Innovation in Japan |
2017.10-2021.3 |
An analysis of the factors that influence women and girls to pursue physics and mathematics |
2017.10-2021.3 |
FY2016
Research on description and interpretation of evidence in policy process |
2016.12-2020.3 |
---|---|
Proactionary approach for ELSI in emerging biomedical research |
2016.12-2020.3 |
Assessing Regenerative Medicine in Japan: an interdisciplinary approach |
2016.12-2020.3 |
Projects Phase 1
*Affiliations and positions are those that applied at the completion of the project.
FY2014
Frame I
Development of Benchmarks of the Quality of Prior Art Search in International Patent Prosecution Processes |
2014.10-2017.9 |
---|
Frame II
Establishment of Methodology and Database for Life Cycle-Based Environmental Assessment and Installation to the Society for the Promotion of Green Procurement |
2014.10-2017.9 |
---|---|
Innovation in Evidence-Informed Policy Making: Through Visualizing and Re-designing Social Systems for Countermeasures against Regional Disparity in Healthcare Quality |
2014.10-2017.9 |
Realizing Policymaking Process of Infectious Disease Control using Mathematical Modeling Techniques |
2014.10-2017.9 |
Development of the Evidence-Base for Advanced Risk Management of Living Spaces |
2014.10-2017.9 |
FY2013
Frame I
Action Research for Realizing Innovation with Infometric Approach |
2013.10-2016.9 |
---|
Frame II
A Study on Methods for Objective/Quantitative Assessment of the Impact of Satellite Observations on Environmental Policy |
2013.10-2016.9 |
---|---|
Scenario Planning for Making Regulatory Policies and Technical Standards in Advanced Medicine |
2013.10-2016.9 |
Resilience Analysis for Social Safety Policy |
2013.10-2016.9 |
FY2012
Framework for Broad Public Engagement in STI Policy (PESTI) |
2012.10-2015.9 |
---|---|
Development of the Case-Based Reasoning System for Regional Science and Technology Policy |
2012.10-2015.9 |
Economic Growth Analysis of Science, Technology, and Innovation Policies |
2012.10-2015.9 |
Resource Logistics as a Support Tool of Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Decision |
2012.10-2015.9 |
Conservation and Energy Utilization of Water as Common Resources for Leading Innovation |
2012.10-2015.9 |
FY2011
Development of Methods for Impact Assessment of Electric Power Innovation and R&D Network Evaluation |
2011.11-2014.10 |
---|---|
Scientometrics Conducive to Management of Funding Programs |
2011.11-2014.10 |
Methodology Development for Visualization and Quantification of Social Expectation to Science Technology |
2011.11-2014.10 |
Research on Scientific Sources of Innovations and Economic Impacts of Science |
2011.11-2014.10 |
Integrating Joint Fact-finding into Policy-Making Processes (IJff) |
2011.11-2014.10 |
Study of Innovation Strategies Conducive to Creating Future Industries |
2011.11-2014.10 |
Frame I : Supply more useful evidence for ST&I policy-making/Originality and uniqueness
Frame II : Targeting to solution for specific social issues/Containing of varied phases from S&T research to discussion on institution setting in order to realize innovation
International Forum 'Grand Challenges for Innovating Policy-Forming Process ~The Initiative for Development of "Science of Science, Technology and Innovation Policy"
JST/RISTEX co-organized the international forum 'Grand Challenges for Innovating Policy-Forming Process ~The Initiative for Development of "Science of Science, Technology and Innovation Policy" with MEXT, NISTEP and JST/CRDS at MEXT Lecture hall on June 22, 2011.