Sign in

James Wilsdon

@jameswilsdon.bsky.social
2.9K followers 838 following 92 posts

undisciplined metascientist | executive director, Research on Research Institute @RoRInstitute.bsky.social | professor of research policy, UCL

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by James Wilsdon
Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Comments from lots of people including @eicathomefinn.bsky.social @petermandler.bsky.social @jameswilsdon.bsky.social @nickhillmanuk.bsky.social and me on why it's important that the Science Minister recognises his brief covers all of R&D www.timeshighereducation.com/news/chris-m...
timeshighereducation.com
Chris McDonald’s ‘unrelenting’ science focus raises concerns
Arts and humanities leaders worried by new minister’s ‘very odd’ comments suggesting his sole concern is science R&D
084
James Wilsdon @jameswilsdon.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
It’s staggering that he’s managed several weeks in the job without realising the scope of his own responsibilities & that of the public research funding system. Hope you can sort him out, Hetan!
030
James Wilsdon @jameswilsdon.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
Churn, not crisis, for UK science @profgeraintrees.bsky.social & I have written the editorial in this week’s @science.org, reflecting on early moves by the Burnham government + scope for US-UK cooperation on scale-up finance & AI for science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... @rorinstitute.bsky.social
An extract from our editorial in this week’s Science on reforms to UK science & scope for US-UK cooperation
074
Reposted by James Wilsdon
Research on Research Institute (RoRI) @rorinstitute.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
DSIT is dead, but UK science will be fine - writing in @theconversation.com, RoRI’s @jameswilsdon.bsky.social breaks down the UK government's latest Whitehall reorganisation and why the research community shouldn't be alarmed by closer proximity to business: theconversation.com/what-the-sud...
theconversation.com
What the sudden demise of the UK’s department of science means for the future of research
If we want to be reminded what real damage to a science system looks like, we only need to glance across the Atlantic.
014
James Wilsdon @jameswilsdon.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
DSIT is dead, but UK science will be fine. Keep your eyes on the AI prize. A few thoughts by me @theconversation.com on the reorganisation of Whitehall science theconversation.com/what-the-sud... @ersatzben.com @hetanshah.bsky.social @rorinstitute.bsky.social @profgeraintrees.bsky.social
theconversation.com
What the sudden demise of the UK’s department of science means for the future of research
If we want to be reminded what real damage to a science system looks like, we only need to glance across the Atlantic.
094
Reposted by James Wilsdon
Robin Bisson @robinbisson.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
So it's official, DSIT is no more Jonny Reynolds is secretary of state for...DBIST? BIST? The officials will have to be called BISTOs... x.com/i/status/207...
x.com
UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) on X
Jonathan Reynolds has been appointed Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade.
083
Reposted by James Wilsdon
Stephen Curry @scurry.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Outstanding and important *NEW* post on the @rorinstitute.bsky.social Substack from Andy Stirling on the democratic challenges for metascience and its role in informing science policy. open.substack.com/pub/research...
open.substack.com
Illuminating neglected uncertainties
How metascience can help rather than hinder democracy
1156
James Wilsdon @jameswilsdon.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
‘…political appointees patrolling the borders of knowledge.’ @anjahuja.bsky.social on the US OMB’s attempt to rewrite the rules of federal grantmaking giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... t
giftarticle.ft.com
Trump is driving another nail into the coffin of US science
Under proposed reforms, political appointees will review grants to ensure they “advance the President’s priorities”
012
James Wilsdon @jameswilsdon.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Over dinner, Ben Steyn, co-head of the UK Metascience Unit, spoke about their recent ‘novelty indicators challenge’ & ongoing work to experiment with AI-augmented models of funding & evaluation.
Ben Steyn, co-head of the UK Metascience Unit speaking in Cambridge on 29 June 2026
100
James Wilsdon @jameswilsdon.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
A great start yesterday to RoRI’s 3-day summit on ‘augmented assessment’ in Cambridge, where we’ve been joined by the architects of research assessment systems from 11 countries, and a fantastic team of metascience experts & facilitators.
Rob Doubleday (CSaP) and James Wilsdon (RoRI) welcoming participants at the start of the meetingDelegates at RoRI’s Summit on Augmented Assessment at Jesus College, Cambridge
141
Reposted by James Wilsdon
Research on Research Institute (RoRI) @rorinstitute.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
RoRI’s @jameswilsdon.bsky.social and @profgeraintrees.bsky.social warn that autonomous AI agents pose an existential threat to research funding by driving grant application costs to zero. They argue assessment must urgently shift away from AI-optimized text to what technology cannot simulate.
youtube.com
LERU Talks - AI and research grants: is the system doomed to collapse?
YouTube video by The League of European Research Universities (LERU)
173
Reposted by James Wilsdon
Research on Research Institute (RoRI) @rorinstitute.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
🌍 RoRI has launched META-MOMENT, the largest comparative study mapping metascience across 21 countries, at the 14th Annual Meeting of the Global Research Council in Bangkok, where RoRI’s @jameswilsdon.bsky.social joined a panel of international funding leaders: researchonresearch.org/rori-launche...
063
James Wilsdon @jameswilsdon.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
‘AI-assisted grants: prioritize fairness with excellence.’ Thoughtful editorial in @nature.com sparked by the article @profgeraintrees.bsky.social & I wrote last week, plus ongoing debates at ERC about how to cope with volume/demand spikes www.nature.com/articles/d41... @rorinstitute.bsky.social
273
James Wilsdon @jameswilsdon.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
Yes agree — we didn’t include the US federal funders in our sample for this reason. See data here for more: www.nature.com/magazine-ass... Other studies have looked at this eg arxiv.org/abs/2601.15485 & clearly AI will be a factor but lots going on in the US data for all the reasons you say!
nature.com
020
Reposted by James Wilsdon
Magdalena Skipper @magdalenaskipper.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
To deal with AI effects on grant fining “funding bodies should consider shifting the emphasis of evaluation away from written proposals & towards the principal investigator, their research team & their previous and ongoing research programmes”🧪 An interesting proposal that might create new problems?
595
James Wilsdon @jameswilsdon.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
yes agree. One reason we didn’t include NSF/NIH data in the mix here is that the US picture is more complicated for all these reasons (though clearly not immune to AI effects alongside other perturbations in the system).
000
Reposted by James Wilsdon
Elizabeth Gibney @lizziegibney.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
Have grants become more competitive lately? 🧪 At least some of the uptick in submissions (that we've reported on @nature.com) seems driven by AI-assisted proposal writing -- funders, like journals, are flooded Great comment piece by @jameswilsdon.bsky.social & co: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
Could agentic AI topple grant-funding systems?
Funders must take action before an increase in submission of high-quality proposals written using AI models makes it impossible to sort the wheat from the chaff.
2209
James Wilsdon @jameswilsdon.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
Could agentic AI topple grant-funding systems? New article in @nature.com by @profgeraintrees.bsky.social & me, with data from 12 funders showing a 57% increase in grant applications since 2022 (& the launch of LLMs) rdcu.be/ffApn @rorinstitute.bsky.social @magdalenaskipper.bsky.social
21818
James Wilsdon @jameswilsdon.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
Great to be in sunny Leusden, NL at the International School for Philosophy (ISVW) for the 2026 RoRI Research Retreat. And here’s (most of!) RoRI’s research and operational team — huge thanks to them all for everything they’ve contributed over the past year. @rorinstitute.bsky.social @cwts.nl
044
Reposted by James Wilsdon
Philip N Cohen @philipncohen.com · 07/03/2026
This proposes a way of using AI agents to produce research. Ok. But this bit is a pipe dream: "And human scientists should retain authority over — and responsibility for — framing the question, validating the path and signing off on conclusions." Here's why... /1
32912
James Wilsdon @jameswilsdon.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
Delighted to welcome to @rorinstitute.bsky.social —> ZonMw, the NL funder of innovation in health & well-being; —> The British Academy @britishacademy.bsky.social, the UK national academy for humanities & social sciences Now 21 core partners in 13 countries researchonresearch.org/rori-welcome...
researchonresearch.org
RoRI welcomes ZonMw and the British Academy as Core Partners - Research on Research
We are pleased to announce two new Core Partners: ZonMw, the Dutch Organisation for knowledge and innovation in health, healthcare […]
020
Reposted by James Wilsdon
MetaROR @metaror.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
🇬🇧 Our latest paper "uses broad bibliometrics to compare the STEM and SHAPE sectors over time in the UK, with comparisons to other countries" Reviewers find it timely & useful, yet suggest a different analytical approach as well as a tighter definition of SHAPE 👇 Find the full evaluation on MetaROR
metaror.org
Understanding the importance of SHAPE to the UK research ecosystem - MetaROR
123
Reposted by James Wilsdon
Stephen Curry @scurry.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
Looking forward to lots of lively metascience discussion on the new @rorinstitute.bsky.social substack. Read my inaugural post to find out what we’re up to.
1105
Reposted by James Wilsdon
Research on Research Institute (RoRI) @rorinstitute.bsky.social · 16/02/2026
📢 New RoRI Working Paper: Does targeted research funding reshape research landscapes? New RoRI evidence from Norway and Switzerland suggests shifts in research topics are gradual - and similar under both targeted and non-targeted funding: researchonresearch.org/does-targete...
083
Reposted by James Wilsdon
Research on Research Institute (RoRI) @rorinstitute.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
RoRI’s Seunghyun Lee and @jameswilsdon.bsky.social joined discussions at the OECD Global Science Forum in Paris on rethinking research assessment & incentives. Assessment reform is moving to the centre of research policy debates; read the full write-up here: researchonresearch.org/rethinking-r...
021
James Wilsdon @jameswilsdon.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
More detail here:
000
James Wilsdon @jameswilsdon.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
made me laugh!
100
James Wilsdon @jameswilsdon.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
“We’re not ditching culture”, says Helen Cross. “But we want to reset the conversation and the words got in the way.” #REF2029
143
James Wilsdon @jameswilsdon.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
Now Helen Cross from SFC sets out the rest of the #REF2029 timetable
100
James Wilsdon @jameswilsdon.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
www.icehockeysystems.com/hockey-drill...
icehockeysystems.com
000
James Wilsdon @jameswilsdon.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
Now Lord Vallance is back on his ‘three buckets’ theory of R&D funding Here’s @ersatzben.com on the ‘3-bucket problem’ www.ersatzben.com/p/the-three-... Bucketism now the frontier of R&I policy. “We must defend the first bucket” says the Minister. A rallying cry to echo down the ages #REF2029
261
James Wilsdon @jameswilsdon.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
Now Lord Vallance joining the dots between #REF2029 reforms and wider UK R&I priorities
000
James Wilsdon @jameswilsdon.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
“We’re out of the pause. It’s back to business as usual. We’re moving forward with #REF2029” concludes Jessica Corner. And indeed, it’s a classic REF compromise!
000
James Wilsdon @jameswilsdon.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
So farewell ‘People, Culture & Environment’… And hello ‘Strategy, People & Research Environment’, or SPRE to her friends. 25% more words; 5% less weight… #REF2029
1117
James Wilsdon @jameswilsdon.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
At @universities-uk.bsky.social where Dame Jessica Corner is gearing up for the big REF reveal! #REF2029
011
Reposted by James Wilsdon
Research on Research Institute (RoRI) @rorinstitute.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
🇬🇧 Big news for UK metascience: the government is trebling the UK Metascience Unit’s budget to £49m. "This represents a resounding vote of confidence in the value and opportunities of metascience to improve the way the UK funds, manages and evaluates research", says RoRI's @jameswilsdon.bsky.social
194
Reposted by James Wilsdon
Research on Research Institute (RoRI) @rorinstitute.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
UCL’s @geoffmulgan.bsky.social kicks off tonight’s seminar on ‘Science in a populist age’ at @wellcometrust.bsky.social, with a stellar line-up inc @helenpearson.bsky.social @senseaboutsci.bsky.social @alokjha.bsky.social. We’ll post the video online soon. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/science-ad...
The panel at today’s RoRi and STEaPP seminar at Wellcome on ‘science in a populist age’.
063
Reposted by James Wilsdon
LSE Impact @lseimpactblog.bsky.social · 28/11/2025
👀Interesting to see the budget earlier this week confirming funding for @ukri.org trial of #DistributedPeerReview, we featured a post from @rorinstitute.bsky.social discussing their recent work on the subject back in September 👇
blogs.lse.ac.uk
Distributed Peer Review – How the wisdom of the crowd can allocate grant funding - Impact of Social Sciences
New research shows engaging the applicants in funding review processes can resolve and reframe many issues facing peer review.
0103
James Wilsdon @jameswilsdon.bsky.social · 27/11/2025
yes see here for an overview of their work in their first year of operations www.gov.uk/government/p...
gov.uk
A year in metascience (2025)
Report outlining the first year of the Metascience Unit, with evidence and insights on how to improve the UK’s research and innovation funding system.
020
James Wilsdon @jameswilsdon.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
(also my only friend who is now a wonderfully-titled Rector Magnificus! I wonder how often that one comes up in those drop-down title boxes in online forms?!) @ludowaltman.bsky.social
040
James Wilsdon @jameswilsdon.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
Alongside her many achievements and contributions, Sarah was one of four co-founders of @rorinstitute.bsky.social, & former co-chair of our Board. She was central to shaping RoRI — and to our ongoing, deep partnership with CWTS. Congratulations again, @sarahderijcke.nl! 🎉
130
James Wilsdon @jameswilsdon.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
Huge congratulations to @sarahderijcke.nl on her appointment as Rector Magnificus @unileiden.bsky.social! Sarah is a brilliant scholar, a visionary & compassionate leader. I’m excited to see her channel her experience, wisdom & insight into this vital role www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2025...
universiteitleiden.nl
Sarah de Rijcke appointed Rector Magnificus of Leiden University
Professor Sarah de Rijcke will become the new Rector Magnificus on the Executive Board of Leiden University on 15 January 2026. She will succeed Professor Hester Bijl, who will become Rector Magnificu...
3204
Reposted by James Wilsdon
Stefanie Haustein @stefhaustein.scholcommlab.ca · 13/11/2025
Thank you for coming to my TED Talk 🎤 If you’ve read this far and still need convincing, please check out our preprint arxiv.org/abs/2511.04820 and this infographic: doi.org/10.5281/zeno... 10/10
The four-fold drain of scientific publishing: Money, Time, Trust, and Control.
46438
Reposted by James Wilsdon
Research on Research Institute (RoRI) @rorinstitute.bsky.social · 12/11/2025
Join RoRI Co-Chair @ludowaltman.bsky.social in Cambridge on 3 Dec, where he'll be a keynote at a forum exploring the Publish, Review, Curate model. The event will showcase initiatives and discuss how this model can shape the future of scholarly communication: coar-repositories.org/news-updates...
174
James Wilsdon @jameswilsdon.bsky.social · 04/10/2025
Research assessment: a round-up Excellent survey of the assessment landscape by @hollyelse.bsky.social in @nature.com, including our recent work @rorinstitute.bsky.social with the Global Research Council. www.nature.com/articles/d41... @alexrushforth.bsky.social @prussianhippie.bsky.social
nature.com
Research assessment: a round-up for early-career researchers
Confused by research evaluation and its potential impact on career progression? Here are some pointers as to how things work in different parts of the world.
075
Reposted by James Wilsdon
Research on Research Institute (RoRI) @rorinstitute.bsky.social · 02/10/2025
New in @nature.com: Funding the Frontier, an AI tool to map & predict research impacts. The piece cites RoRI's @jameswilsdon.bsky.social, who warns such algorithms risk reinforcing past successes over future potential: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
054
Reposted by James Wilsdon
Research on Research Institute (RoRI) @rorinstitute.bsky.social · 23/09/2025
🧠 Does STI policy need a strategic brain? Join us next Tuesday at UCL for a talk by @stianwestlake.bsky.social (Executive Chair, @ukri.org ESRC) on the future of UK R&D, with responses from @britishacademy.bsky.social's Molly Morgan Jones & UCL’s Sarah Chaytor: tinyurl.com/vekzka23
102
James Wilsdon @jameswilsdon.bsky.social · 17/09/2025
@rorinstitute.bsky.social @geoffmulgan.bsky.social @hetanshah.bsky.social
000
James Wilsdon @jameswilsdon.bsky.social · 17/09/2025
Does STI policy need a strategic brain? Join us at 5pm on 30 Sept for a talk by @stianwestlake.bsky.social, Executive Chair, ESRC @ukri Hosted by STEaPP-UCL & RoRI, w/ responses by @britishacademy.bsky.social’s Molly Morgan-Jones & UCL’s Sarah Chaytor www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/does-sti-p...
eventbrite.co.uk
Does STI policy need a strategic brain?
A seminar on how metascience might sharpen investment decisions across the UK’s research system
132
James Wilsdon @jameswilsdon.bsky.social · 17/09/2025
@rorinstitute.bsky.social @geoffmulgan.bsky.social @hetanshah.bsky.social
000