As you will probably know, the Netherlands is developing a national science agenda. Decisions will be taken in the next few months. See http://www.wetenschapsagenda.nl/. The OZSW and the deans of philosophy in the Netherlands believe that it is important to participate in this process. A large part of our future research funding will be linked to the national science agenda (for example at NWO).

 In April individuals and organizations can submit research questions for the national science agenda. It should be questions that allow for multi- or interdisciplinary research (purely philosophical questions are most likely ruled out in my view). The questions should have scientific, societal or economic relevance or urgency, and it should be possible to answer them within a time horizon of roughly 10 years (there may be room for some real long-term questions). Furthermore, the Netherlands should have strong research groups in these areas.

In a first brainstorm within OZSW we came up with 9 clusters of questions. This has been a bottom-up process. Each cluster has a coordinator who together with others within OZSW tries to formulate important research questions within that particular cluster. The clusters and coordinators are:

1)            Free will, autonomy, personal identity  (coordinator Frank Hindriks)

2)            Risk, uncertainty and decison making (coordinator Jan-Willem Romeijn)

3)            Information and big data (coordinator Beate Rössler)

4)            Quality of life (coordinator Martin van Hees)

5)            Functioning of science (coordinator James MacAllister)

6)            Science and society (coordinator Anthonie Meijers)

7)            Resilient societies: globalization, democracy,politics, and sustainability (coordinator Marcus Düwell)

8)            Imagination, media and the culture of images (coordinator Bert van den Brink)

9)            The actuality of the past (coordinator Christoph Lüthy)

 We would like to invite OZSW members to participate in this process. If you would like to contribute research questions, please contact the coordinator of the relevant cluster. If no cluster really fits, contact Anthonie Meijers (a.w.m.meijers@tue.nl)