Science and SocietyScience Policy

Policies that impact science influence the success of the scientific enterprise globally.

2020 marked the 75th Anniversary of Science, the Endless Frontier, a prescient report from Vannevar Bush that led to the development of the modern American research university, the National Science Foundation, and was the intellectual architecture for higher education, basic research and science, engineering, and medical research in the U.S. In honor of this important milestone, The Kavli Foundation supported a limited series of forums to explore the next 75 years of science policy, including how resources and infrastructure could evolve to support basic research and science overall for generations to come. Working with leaders from academia and scientific institutions, philanthropy and civic science, publishers and more, these efforts sparked critical dialogue and challenged people to think about the long-term vitality of a thriving scientific enterprise. Below are resources from these various endeavors, along with a summary of the foundation’s three-year program (2020-2023).

The Next 75 Years of Science Policy

Through our support, Issues in Science and Technology is publishing ambitious, challenging, and innovative proposals on how to structure the resources of science to enable the best possible future. Contributors include global leaders to early career researchers, policymakers, businesspeople, and readers, creating a forum for the exchange of ideas about reinvigorating the scientific enterprise.
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Journal of Science Policy & Governance

With support from The Kavli Foundation, the Journal of Science Policy & Governance and the American Association for the Advancement of Science collaborated on a policy position paper competition calling for future generations to reimagine American science and science policy and submit bold, innovative and actionable ideas.
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Endless Frontier: The Next 75 Years of Science

To mark the 75th anniversary of the publication of the Vannevar Bush report, "Science: The Endless Frontier," the foundation supported the National Academy of Sciences to explore the modern research architecture and how to meet future challenges. The 2020 symposium publication and talks will be followed up with a 2022 convening on September 22 with a deeper dive on research and higher education for the next 75 years.
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