Re - Thinking Science : Mode 2 in Societal Context * )

Eight years ago the three authors of this contribution, along with three others, published The New Production of Knowledge: The Dynamics of Science and Research in Contemporary Societies (Gibbons et al 1994). Reviews were mixed. Some philosophers, historians and sociologists of science regarded the argument in the book as either simplistic or banal (or perhaps both), while science policy analysts worried about the empirical evidence for the trends identified in the book (or argued that these trends were not new). However, the book sold well. Its broad thesis, that the production of knowledge and the process of research were being radically transformed, struck a chord of recognition among both researchers and policy makers. It seemed to make sense of familiar but disparate policies and practices which they were either encouraging or experiencing.