The Netherlands is a knowledge economy par excellence. To be and remain internationally competitive, it is important to stimulate good research and to attract and retain talent. The value of science is expressed in its contribution to the solution of societal challenges, the strengthening of the earning capacity of the Netherlands, the agenda-setting and interpretation of (future) issues and as fuel for education. This appreciation makes science increasingly intertwined with other domains, and science policy increasingly tied to other domains, including (but not exclusively) health care, innovation and economy, sustainability, mobility and security. In 2020, Dialogic conducted the policy review of the Ministry for OCW’s Research and Science Policy. Dialogic conducts research on various themes within science and research:

• (Support for) evaluations of institutes
  Public institutes for research that are funded by the government should be evaluated regularly (usually every 4 to 5 years). Dialogic regularly carries out such evaluations or supports evaluation committees. Here we examine whether an institute functions effectively and efficiently. We regularly use the guidelines of the Strategic Evaluation Protocol for this purpose.
• Evaluations of the social impact of research
  A lot of scientific research aims to add social value. Research is carried out in collaboration with industry to achieve economic impact, and various regulations aim to encourage this collaboration. Research may also be conducted to inform policy, for which the government funds the research. Dialogic regularly evaluates whether this impact is achieved and how scientific research is transformed into knowledge with added societal value.
• Research on innovations and developments in the science system
  Science and research itself are also subject to developments. For example, topics such as data, data infrastructures, open science and new forms of recognition & appreciation have been developing rapidly in recent years. Dialogic regularly conducts research into the latest state of developments, exploring scenarios for the future in order to prepare policy accordingly or to advise where additional investments are needed.