Alexander V. Oleskin, General Ecology & Hydrobiology Department, Biology Faculty, Moscow State University; Moscow State University for Medicine & Dentistry; aoleskin@rambler.ru
ABSTRACT
Despite important recent achievements in various fields of science ranging from genetic engineering to quantum physics and space research, a serious challenge for the present-day world is the necessity to urgently reform the organization of the scientific community in order to drastically increase its efficiency and productivity and to avoid serious problems exemplified by unjustifiable procrastination in the development of a COVID-19 vaccine that has had disastrous global consequences. Such problems are particularly prominent in countries like Russia and China, where the scientific community has been struggling with a systemic crisis. In this work, decentralized networked patterns of teams of researchers, experts, and science entrepreneurs are suggested. One possible scenario is the hirama (High-Intensity Research and Management Association), i.e. a decentralized network structure with several partial creative leaders. In addition, living nature has created at least seven different scenarios (paradigms) of network structures during the course of its evolution. All these paradigms are potentially applicable to teams dealing with creative scientific work and can be efficiently combined to develop novel organizational patterns for scientific research and related business projects. Apart from scientific research activities per se, network structures can be used in environmental, educational, and health care institutions. The establishment of digital platforms in the modern informational age is expected to significantly promote the development of decentralized network structures (DNSs). This process is also facilitated by decentralized blockchain-based transactions, especially if virtual currencies are used. In this work, it is suggested that the development of network structures and the optimization of their operation is to be achieved by setting up guidelines-providing networks denoted herein as chaperones. Chaperones are expected to promote the development of large-scale influential meganetworks that should constitute the backbone of the emergent networked (reticular) social and economic system. The development of this promising innovative system should be facilitated by such practical steps as establishing an innovative Research Institute for Network Structures (RINS), a Networks-Promoting Committee (empowered to suggest new laws that grant a legal status to decentralized networks), and a large number of counseling commissions and incubators for new developing DNSs, especially for those dealing with scientific R & D activities.