Forms of research organisation and their responsiveness to external goal setting

Notions such as 'post-normal science', 'mode 2' and 'triple helix' have been used to describe changing forms of work organisation in science. These notions have been acclaimed for their general scope yet criticised for their lack of empirical substantiation. This paper develops a theoretically informed but empirically applicable model for research into forms of work organisation in science and their responsiveness towards external goal setting. By means of empirical illustration, this model is applied to the organisation of university and non-university economic research in Germany. It is observed that it is not the epistemology of research that makes for its responsiveness towards external goal setting but rather its institutional organisation. In conclusion, the paper argues that the social accountability of research can be consciously designed in terms of the formal constitutions of publicly funded research organisations. This leaves an important task for national science policies. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.