Mode 2
Encyclopedia
Mode 2 is a concept that is often used to refer to a novel way of scientific knowledge
production, (or rather its "co-production
"), put forth in 1994 by Michael Gibbons, Camille Limoges
, Helga Nowotny
, Simon Schwartzman
, Peter Scott
and Martin Trow in their book The new production of knowledge: the dynamics of science and research in contemporary societies (Sage).
John Ziman
drew a similar distinction between academic science and post-academic science in 2000 in his book Real Science (Cambridge).
In 2001 Helga Nowotny
, Peter Scott and Michael Gibbons published Re-thinking science: knowledge in an age of uncertainty (Polity) in which they extend their analysis to the implications of mode 2 knowledge production for society.
Concerning the empirical validity of the Mode 2 claims, Etzkowitz & Leydesdorff (2000:116) argue –
In the same article Etzkowitz & Leydesdorff (2000:111) use the notion of the triple helix of the nation state, academia and industry to explain innovation, the development of new technology and knowledge transfer. Etzkowitz & Leydesdorff (2000:118) argue that ‘The Triple Helix overlay provides a model at the level of social structure for the explanation of Mode 2 as an historically emerging structure for the production of scientific knowledge, and its relation to Mode 1’.
Steve Fuller, in his book The Governance of Science (Chapter 5) has criticised the 'Modists' view of the history of science because they wrongly give the impression that mode 1 dates back to seventeenth-century Scientific Revolution whereas mode 2 is traced to the end of either World War II or the cold war, whereas in fact the two modes were institutionalized only within a generation of each other (the third and the fourth quarters of the nineteenth century, respectively). Fuller claims that the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute
s in Germany, jointly funded by the state, the industry and the universities, predated today's "triple helix" institutions by an entire century.
Regarding the conceptual strength of Mode 2, it has been argued that the coherence of its five features is questionable. There might be a lot of multi-disciplinary, application oriented research that does not show organizational diversity or novel types of quality control (Rip, 2002).
Another problem with Mode 2 is that it lends itself to a normative reading. Several authors have criticized the way Gibbons and his co-authors seem to blend descriptive and normative elements. According to Godin (1998), the Mode 2 talk is more a political ideology than a descriptive theory. Similarly, Shinn (2002:604) complains: 'Instead of theory or data, the New Production of Knowledge - both book and concept - seems tinged with political commitment'.
Some writers have invented a mode 3 knowledge, which is mostly used to refer to emotional knowledge or social knowledge. But these writers miss the whole point of Gibbons et al. which was not to catalogue types of knowledge but to describe types of knowledge production or research.
Knowledge
Knowledge is a familiarity with someone or something unknown, which can include information, facts, descriptions, or skills acquired through experience or education. It can refer to the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject...
production, (or rather its "co-production
Coproduction (social science)
The term co-production is used to explore the ways in which technical experts and other groups in society generate new knowledge and technologies together. More specifically, some use it to conceptualize the dynamic interaction between technology and society It has a long history, particularly...
"), put forth in 1994 by Michael Gibbons, Camille Limoges
Camille Limoges
Camille Limoges recently retired as deputy minister of Québec's ministère de la Recherche, de la Science, et de la Technologie. His three decades of work, both as a scholar and a civil servant, has made an indelible mark on science and technology research....
, Helga Nowotny
Helga Nowotny
Helga Nowotny is President of the European Research CouncilERC and Professor emeritus of Social Studies of Science, ETH Zurich. From 1998 on she was also Director of its Collegium Helveticum...
, Simon Schwartzman
Simon Schwartzman
Simon Schwartzman is a Brazilian social scientist. He has published extensively, with many books, book chapters and academic articles in the areas of comparative politics, sociology of science, social policy, and education...
, Peter Scott
Peter Scott (educationalist)
Sir Peter Scott is a British educationalist and the former Vice-Chancellor of Kingston University in Kingston upon Thames in southwest London.-Life and career:...
and Martin Trow in their book The new production of knowledge: the dynamics of science and research in contemporary societies (Sage).
The concept
Gibbons and colleagues argued that a new form of knowledge production started emerging from the mid 20th century which is context-driven, problem-focused and interdisciplinary. It involves multidisciplinary teams brought together for short periods of time to work on specific problems in the real world. Gibbons and his colleagues labelled this "mode 2" knowledge production. This he and his colleagues distinguished from traditional research, which they labelled "mode 1", which is academic, investigator-initiated and discipline-based knowledge production. So mode 1 knowledge production is investigator-initiated and discipline-based while mode 2 is problem-focused and interdisciplinary. Or as Limoges (1996:14-15) wrote -- We now speak of 'context-driven' research, meaning 'research carried out in a context of application, arising from the very work of problem solving and not governed by the paradigms of traditional disciplines of knowledge.
John Ziman
John Ziman
John Michael Ziman was a physicist and a humanist who worked in the area of condensed matter physics. He was an outstanding spokesman for science, and an accomplished teacher and author....
drew a similar distinction between academic science and post-academic science in 2000 in his book Real Science (Cambridge).
In 2001 Helga Nowotny
Helga Nowotny
Helga Nowotny is President of the European Research CouncilERC and Professor emeritus of Social Studies of Science, ETH Zurich. From 1998 on she was also Director of its Collegium Helveticum...
, Peter Scott and Michael Gibbons published Re-thinking science: knowledge in an age of uncertainty (Polity) in which they extend their analysis to the implications of mode 2 knowledge production for society.
Reception
While the notion of mode 2 knowledge production has attracted considerable interest, it has not been universally accepted in the terms put by Gibbons and colleagues. Scholars in science (policy) studies have pointed to three types of problems with the concept of Mode 2, regarding its empirical validity, its conceptual strength and its political value (Hessels and Van Lente, 2008).Concerning the empirical validity of the Mode 2 claims, Etzkowitz & Leydesdorff (2000:116) argue –
- The so-called Mode 2 is not new; it is the original format of science (or art) before its academic institutionalization in the 19th century. Another question to be answered is why Mode 1 has arisen after Mode 2: the original organizational and institutional basis of science, consisting of networks and invisible colleges. Where have these ideas, of the scientist as the isolated individual and of science separated from the interests of society, come from? Mode 2 represents the material base of science, how it actually operates. Mode 1 is a construct, built upon that base in order to justify autonomy for science, especially in an earlier era when it was still a fragile institution and needed all the help it could get (references omitted).
In the same article Etzkowitz & Leydesdorff (2000:111) use the notion of the triple helix of the nation state, academia and industry to explain innovation, the development of new technology and knowledge transfer. Etzkowitz & Leydesdorff (2000:118) argue that ‘The Triple Helix overlay provides a model at the level of social structure for the explanation of Mode 2 as an historically emerging structure for the production of scientific knowledge, and its relation to Mode 1’.
Steve Fuller, in his book The Governance of Science (Chapter 5) has criticised the 'Modists' view of the history of science because they wrongly give the impression that mode 1 dates back to seventeenth-century Scientific Revolution whereas mode 2 is traced to the end of either World War II or the cold war, whereas in fact the two modes were institutionalized only within a generation of each other (the third and the fourth quarters of the nineteenth century, respectively). Fuller claims that the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute
Kaiser Wilhelm Institute
The Kaiser Wilhelm Society for the Advancement of Science was a German scientific institution established in 1911. It was implicated in Nazi science, and after the Second World War was wound up and its functions replaced by the Max Planck Society...
s in Germany, jointly funded by the state, the industry and the universities, predated today's "triple helix" institutions by an entire century.
Regarding the conceptual strength of Mode 2, it has been argued that the coherence of its five features is questionable. There might be a lot of multi-disciplinary, application oriented research that does not show organizational diversity or novel types of quality control (Rip, 2002).
Another problem with Mode 2 is that it lends itself to a normative reading. Several authors have criticized the way Gibbons and his co-authors seem to blend descriptive and normative elements. According to Godin (1998), the Mode 2 talk is more a political ideology than a descriptive theory. Similarly, Shinn (2002:604) complains: 'Instead of theory or data, the New Production of Knowledge - both book and concept - seems tinged with political commitment'.
Some writers have invented a mode 3 knowledge, which is mostly used to refer to emotional knowledge or social knowledge. But these writers miss the whole point of Gibbons et al. which was not to catalogue types of knowledge but to describe types of knowledge production or research.