The persistence of big science and megascience in research and innovation policy

This special section of an issue of Science and Public Policy grew out of an interest in following the politics of the European Spallation Source (ESS) Facility at Lund, Sweden. The ESS spectacle provided a platform from which to review different research infrastructure projects and to place them in the context of science policy as a whole. Large-scale research infrastructure investments are often very visible and controversial science policy investments. This group of five papers provides insights into the persistence of these types of investments in an era where cost efficiency and the contribution of science to innovation and economic development appear to be the dominant rationale for investment.