An agenda of mine that how funds get allocated to big science projects needs to be set by social values, not by science itself.
“Research councils often back big science out of ignorance ….”
“pathways to impact … a charter to support bullshitters.”
“…. perhaps it’s time to open up the debate to the public about what scientific agendas we should be pursuing and how they should be resourced. This could help move away from a trend where our governments are buying into ‘vanity projects’, and would have the potential to hold them more to account.”
Which means they need to be justified in terms of meaningful values.
The idea of research being funded because it leads to economic benefits is as dumb as education being designed for career paths. Those are development and training.
[Post Note : “inevitably an element of politics” in big science Jon Butterworth]
[Post Note : Shell (& BP “big oil”) influence science exhibits they sponsor – no shit Sherlock.]