Clustering the Prevailing Discourses about the Appropriate Structure for Science and Technology Policy in Iran by Using the FCM Algorithm

There have been significant developments in the field of science and technology in Iran in recent years, however, there are many criticisms of the structural problems in its science and technology policy-making system. This research is based on the philosophical paradigm of interpretivism, and its main purpose is to cluster and analyze various discourses regarding the appropriate structure required for science and technology policies in Iran. This was done by employing the Fuzzy C-Means Clustering Algorithm (FCM) and was based on interviews with experts. Thus, the science and technology policy framework based on the OECD model was developed and expanded. The Fuzzy logic used in this research was used for the first time in discourse analysis due to the fact that it is more closely related to the complex and pervasive nature of social sciences. Using a theoretical framework based on the OECD model, the opinions of 50 experts were collected using a questionnaire and analyzed via MATLAB and SPSS. The research findings showed that, the current situation was written in the form of a discourse, but in order to improve the situation, at least two "cooperative participatory discourses" and "intervening participatory discourses" can be drawn out. Furthermore, the institution-task matrix, which brings about the evolution of the institutional structure of science and technology policy in Iran, was outlined. Finally, without attempting to remove, merge, or add an institution, some tasks were assigned to some institutions and some tasks were removed from some institutions.