Research project Deciding about Future Science: How Scientists Can Collectively Set Research Priorities in the Era of Big Science (DECIDE)

Big scientific experiments often require new infrastructure like space telescopes or particle accelerators. Unsurprisingly, the cost of some experiments has skyrocketed to billions of euros. Since large experiments tend to require financial support from multiple government agencies over extended periods of time—often several decades—only a small number will be funded. Which experiments are conducted has a crucial influence on the future direction of science. The central research question of DECIDE is therefore: how do, and how should scientists collectively decide what large-scale experiments to pursue?

Through a careful study of the history of one of the most influential procedures for scientific funding decisions, the US Astronomy Decadal Survey, this project will develop a new framework for collective decision-making about the pursuit of large-scale experiments. The project sits at the intersection of history and philosophy of post-World War II astronomy, astrophysics, and cosmology, philosophy of experiment, and social epistemology.