Science policies are concerned with the allocation of resources for the conduct of science towards a better society. This concept includes science funding, scientific careers, scientific applications, competitiveness, and economic development.
Science policy focuses on knowledge production and the role of knowledge networks, collaborations and the complex distributions of expertise, equipment and know-how.
Understanding the processes and organizational context of generating novel and innovative science and engineering ideas is a core concern of science policy. Science policy topics include weapons development, healthcare and environmental monitoring.
Science policy thus deals with the entire domain of issues that involve science. A complex web of factors influences the development of science. This web includes government science policy makers, private firms, social movements, media, NGOs, universities, and research institutions.
In addition, science policy is increasingly international as defined by the global operations of firms and research institutions as well as by the collaborative networks of non-governmental organizations and of the nature of science itself.
Islamic World’s Science Policies
To understand the current status of science policies in the Islamic World, watch this interview conducted in 2015 by TV Islam Science with Hassan Ehsan Masood.
Hassan Ehsan Masood is a Pakistani science writer, journalist and broadcaster. He’s the editor of Research Professional News since 2009. And he’s teaching international science policy at Imperial College London, UK since 2008.
He studied applied physics at Portsmouth Polytechnic, UK and science communication at Birkbeck, University of London. Moreover, Masood was also a writer in the journal Nature between 1995 and 1999. Then, he became an acting chief commissioning editor in 2008/2009. He has also worked as Opinion Editor of New Scientist magazine and communications director at LEAD International.
He was director of communications of Leadership for Environment and Development. Furthermore, he’s an advisor for the British Council on science and cultural relations.
Masood was a regular contributor to Home Planet, an environmental affairs programme on BBC Radio 4 in the UK. In addition, he’s chair of trustees of The Muslim Institute which is a UK-based charity that supports critical thinking among British Muslims.