Leonie van Drooge currently works as senior policy at ZonMw, the Dutch research funder in health, healthcare and well-being. She is responsible for research on research, i.e. for research into programming and funding of research.
Leonie has previously worked as senior researcher and consultant at the Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) at Leiden University and at the Dutch research policy think thank Rathenau Instituut. She has studied Chemistry and Science studies at the Universities of Amsterdam and Manchester.
Her expertise is evaluation and societal impact of research. Her involvement with the Dutch evaluation protocol for research organisations SEP spans more than a decade.

David Budtz Pedersen is Professor of Science Communication and Impact Studies at Aalborg University, and Director of FRONTIER Center for Advanced SSH. His research focuses on the management, communication and evaluation of science and technology. He is a regular adviser to the European Commission, the Danish Ministry of Higher Education and Science, and a Member of the Norwegian Research Council. He takes a special interest in open, responsible and collaborative research focused on creating positive impact in society.  David has received competitive grants from the Danish Council for Independent Research, The Velux Foundation, The Villum Foundation, The European Commission, and Innovation Fund Denmark. He has about 150 entries on his list of publications ranging from research papers, research monographs, edited volumes, policy reports, op-ed columns and essays.

Professor, Graduate School of Policy Studies, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS). His research interests include university evaluation, science and technology policy, and scientometrics. He previously served as Professor at the Research Department for University Evaluation, National Institution for Academic Degrees and Quality Enhancement of Higher Education, before assuming his current position in 2018.　He is actively involved in shaping research assessment and related policies, serving as a member of both the Basic Plan Expert Panel and the Evaluation Expert Panel of the Council for Science, Technology and Innovation (Cabinet Office), as well as Chair of the Committee on the Promotion of Academic Development and Research Capability and Secretary of the Subcommittee on Research Evaluation of the Science Council of Japan. He also serves as a member of the Expert Panel on Policy Evaluation of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT).

Azusa Uji is an Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Law, Kyoto University. She earned her bachelor’s degree in 2012 and obtained her Ph.D. from Kyoto University in 2018. Before assuming her current position, she conducted research at Harvard University and ETH Zurich. In 2019, she received the Masaharu Matsushita Memorial Academic Award for her doctoral dissertation.

Professor, Center for Ecological Research, Kyoto University. His research focuses on aquatic ecology and biogeochemical cycles in aquatic environments, particularly organism–environment interactions in ecosystems. He previously served as Assistant Professor at the Graduate School of Informatics, Kyoto University, Visiting Researcher at The Ecosystems Center, Marine Biological Laboratory, and Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Agriculture, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology. He has been Professor at the Center for Ecological Research, Kyoto University since 2016, and will serve as Director of the Center from 2025. He also serves as Director, Kyoto University Rowing Club, and since 2024, as President of the Kyoto University Athletic Association.

Professor, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, specializing in insect ecology. He received the JSPS Prize and the Japan Academy Medal in 2011. He previously served as a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University, and as Assistant and then Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Environmental Science, Okayama University. He has been Professor at the Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University since 2012. Since April 2022, he has also served as Deputy Executive Vice-President for Planning and Coordination, Research Promotion, and since October 2024 as Vice-Provost at Kyoto University.

Deputy Executive Vice-President for Research Promotion, Designated Professor, Professor Emeritus, and Deputy Director of the Office of Research Acceleration, where he also serves as Director of the Division of Research Analysis and Evaluation. His field of expertise is inorganic and metallic materials science. He has received the Philipp Franz von Siebold Award from the Government of Germany and the Hokokai Award from the Hattori Hokokai Foundation. He previously served at the Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research, Osaka University, and as Professor at the Graduate School of Engineering. He has held his current positions at Kyoto University since April 2025.

Dr. Kitagawa obtained his Ph.D. degree at Kyoto University and is now Distinguished Professor at KUIAS and iCeMS. He assumed his current position as Executive Vice-President in 2024. Kitagawa pioneered the Chemistry of porous coordination polymers (PCPs) and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), predicting their flexible framework, and developing applications in gas storage, separation, and conversion. He coined the term “soft porous crystals” (SPC), catalyzing a field now integral to materials chemistry. Kitagawa envisions a future where porous materials drive advancements across environmental, energy, resource, and health sectors, labeling the 21st century the “age of gas.” His contributions have earned him numerous accolades, including awards from the Chemical Society of Japan, the Medal with Purple Ribbon from the Japanese Government (2011), the Japan Academy Prize (2016), and the Chemistry for the Future Solvay Prize (2017). Kitagawa’s influence extends through his membership in the Japan Academy, his status as a Foreign Member of the Royal Society, and his recognition as a highly cited researcher (2014–2022).