The distinction between basic and applied research, widely used for the purposes of science policy, is notoriously vague and ambiguous. In earlier papers, I have argued that there is nevertheless a viable and systematic way of separating these two types of research.¹ An important form of applied research includes design sciences or 'sciences of the artificial" in the sense of Herbert Simon.² Applied social sciences, which pursue knowledge with the purpose of influencing social behavior and social institutions into a desired direction, can be counted as important examples of such design sciences.