Novelty and Inequalities in Science

International Research Symposium on Recognizing and Rewarding Novelty in Science

October 8-9, 2026 Prague, Czech Republic

Call for Abstracts Program highlights Submit Register Venue Important dates Contact Credits

Centre for Science, Technology, and Society Studies at the Czech Academy of Sciences invites prospective participants to submit abstracts for presentation at the international research symposium Novelty and Inequalities in Science, to be held in Prague, Czechia, on October 8-9, 2026.

Call for Abstracts

Every entry in the scientific record is expected to deliver a novel contribution to the stock of knowledge. Yet, despite its implied omnipresence, novelty has lately emerged as itself a novel research object in the science of science. This shift compels us to examine the social processes driving novelty to the forefront of scientific inquiry, and whether the concept complements or supplants established notions such as priority or originality.

What motivates the current emphasis on novelty? There is an increasing concern that the proportion of truly novel work shrinks despite - or perhaps due to - the exponential growth in scholarly communication. Other explanations point to policy frameworks that prioritize innovation and commercialization, gradually seeping into the research agenda from the outside. But on the inside, the availability of new computational tools and large-scale datasets has also enabled scholars to tackle previously elusive concepts such as novelty. Either way, the question of what counts as novel, and who gets to decide, has acquired fresh urgency.

Upon closer look, novelty remains an ambiguous concept. It oscillates between a property of scientific work determinable ex ante, at the time of publication, and a process of recognition that can only be retraced ex post, susceptible to social prejudice. While novelty is frequently treated as an asset that earns rewards, there are also indications that it acts as a liability subjecting academic careers to penalties from risk aversion. Understanding how funding agencies, peers, and research institutions identify, evaluate, and reward novelty - and whose novel contributions are overlooked - requires a critical interrogation of structural inequalities in the academic field. In this context, the development of algorithmic measures holds the potential to either disentangle novelty from prestige or exacerbate academic audit culture.

The symposium aims to provide a collaborative platform to reflect on the recent attention devoted to novelty research and discuss the relationship between novelty and inequalities in science. We welcome empirically grounded contributions driven by computational, network, quantitative, or qualitative methods in disciplines such as the science of science, research on research, scientometrics, and sociology of science.

Program highlights

Keynote

TBA

Report on Metascience Novelty Indicators Challenge

Sarah Otner (University of Sussex Business School)

Sarah Otner, Principal Investigator of the UKRI-funded Metascience Novelty Indicators Challenge and Founding Director of the Metascience Research Centre at the University of Sussex Business School, will share insights and key findings from the Metascience Novelty Indicators Challenge.

Novelty and Science Policy Panel

Representatives of science policy stakeholders will discuss their institutional perspective on novelty. More details to follow.

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Abstract submission

The Novelty and Inequalities in Science symposium offers a focused, non-conference format designed to facilitate in-depth exchange of research findings and ideas. To support a shared experience without parallel sessions, the number of presentation slots is limited. Priority will be given to abstracts that clearly align with the symposium’s aims and scope, as outlined in the Call for Abstracts. A small number of seats will also be available for non-presenting participants once registration opens.

SUBMIT YOUR ABSTRACT HERE

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