Programme
15.00 – 16.00 General Meeting of the NFA (members only, also online)
16.00 – 16.15 Refreshments (Conference Room)
16.15 – 17.15 Uhlenbeck Lecture by Naomi Ellemers (also online)
17.15 Drinks and Bites
Uhlenbeck Lecture: Science for society
Science for society: how science-policy collaborations can benefit science and society
Some of the key challenges faced by modern day societies relate to the willingness of individuals to take social responsibility, cooperate with each other, and comply with relevant policies and guidelines. Unfortunately, policies currently used to foster such behaviors often prove ineffective or even counterproductive. This is the case, at least in part, because these typically approach individuals as rational decision makers, who are guided by deliberate consideration of the (financial) benefits and disadvantages of different behavioral options.
Research efforts in the social and behavioral sciences have uncovered a much broader range of psychological mechanisms that guide such behaviors. These ‘irrational’ but often predictable patterns include emotional, self-justifying, socially adaptive, and habitual responses, and can inform effective policy making.
Policy makers increasingly acknowledge the shortcomings of current approaches and seek input from researchers in the behavioral sciences. However, to be able to truly incorporate and benefit from this knowledge, it is not sufficient to commission literature reviews, have experts present at symposia, or consult researchers about specific studies. Instead, more long-term and structural knowledge alliances are needed. This allows policy makers and behavioral researchers to become aware of each others’ broader expertise and insights, and build a broader collective knowledge base and expert network. This makes it possible to jointly develop new questions for policy and research and to systematically predict and examine the impact of different types of interventions.
In this talk Naomi Ellmers will present some examples of such long-term collaborations, as ‘proof of principle’ of their added value for science and for society. In the discussion Ellemers hopes to explore how the NIAS community can contribute to the broader development, continued viability, and added value of such science-policy collaborations.
About Naomi Ellemers
Professor Naomi Ellemers was NIAS Fellow in 2014/15. She was elected member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), and Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy. Among the distinctions she received is the NWO-Spinoza Award. She is member of the supervisory board of PwC the Netherlands, and chair of the Kurt Lewin Institute. She is one of the initiators of the National Integration Fund and one of Athena’s Angels. From 2020 -2022 she was chair of the KNAW Committee on Roots and Prevention of Inappropriate Behaviour in Academia
