Olof Hallonsten
Senior lecturer
Is there an ‘iron law’ of Big Science?
Author
Editor
- Katharina C. Cramer
- Olof Hallonsten
Summary, in English
Big Science is costly and complex, and historical evidence seems to suggest that projects often get delayed and more expensive than planned. On the basis of several studies of large infrastructures such as railroads and bridges, the Danish geographer Bent Flyvbjerg has proposed that there is an “iron law” of megaprojects, meaning that they almost without exception turn out more expensive and more time-consuming to complete than originally envisaged. In this chapter, the “iron law” is applied on Big Science in Europe, to see whether it holds, and if so, to make a preliminary analysis of why. The chapter uses a sample of the 17 most expensive Research Infrastructures listed on ESFRI roadmaps, complemented by an in-depth case study of the neutron facility European Spallation Source currently under construction in Lund, Sweden to investigate this matter, important for both policymaking and scholarly research.
Department/s
- Organizational Studies
Publishing year
2020
Language
English
Pages
217-231
Publication/Series
Big Science and Research Infrastructures in Europe
Document type
Book chapter
Publisher
Edward Elgar Publishing
Topic
- Social Sciences Interdisciplinary
- Sociology (excluding Social Work, Social Psychology and Social Anthropology)
- Public Administration Studies
Status
Published
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISBN: 9781839100017
- ISBN: 9781839100000