OECD Blue Sky III Forum

Every 10 years the OECD Blue Sky Forum engages the policy community, data users and providers into an open dialogue to review and develop its long-term agenda on science, technology and innovation (STI) data and indicators. This event is known as the “OECD Blue Sky Forum”, an open and unconstrained discussion on evidence gaps in science and innovation and on initiatives the international community can take to address data needs in this area.

Key objectives

  • Lead to a forward looking and policy relevant roadmap on STI measurement for OECD and beyond to consider and implement with their membership, other international organisations and experts.
  • Discuss and review the main conceptual underpinnings of current frameworks for STI indicators and data infrastructure initiatives, as well as their uses by the policy and the research communities.
  • Explore the role of digital infrastructures in creating new opportunities for measurement and analysis, as well as challenges to existing standards of collection and quality of STI indicators.
  • Provide new opportunities for collaboration and strengthen the dialogue between: policy makers, data users and providers; national and global practices on indicators; efforts to build up and maintain underlying data resources and efforts to develop indicators; official statisticians and other practitioners; and STI data practitioners and practitioners in related statistical domains.

Submitting contributions

Blue Sky 2016 welcomes original submissions that showcase examples of data and indicator development with the potential for international adoption, as well as examples of ground-breaking application of existing or new sources addressing questions and providing evidence on the state of science and innovation systems and the role of STI policies worldwide.

Academic contributions with clear policy relevance are encouraged, but submissions may also include concept papers outlining possible strategies for STI data collection, measurement and quality improvements, formulate user needs or specify potential initiatives by policy makers and administrators that can support the infrastructure for the analysis of science and innovation phenomena.

Contributions will be selected by a scientific committee comprising leading experts in the area based on (1) policy relevance; (2) novel and forward looking elements of the approach; (3) implications or potential for implementation at the global level. A Conference volume will be produced by OECD comprising short versions of selected and contributed papers by leading experts.

Please submit your contributions by the 14th of March 2016 to OECD.BlueSky3@oecd.org

Further information on the OECD website.