Purpose: In contemporary scholarship, Science and Technology Diplomacy (STD) is recognized as a major mechanism linking scientific systems, technological capabilities, and countries’ policy objectives. In this framework, scientific interactions and the flow of knowledge and technology are not merely “research collaborations”; they can directly shape governments’ strategic interests, strengthen innovation capacity, improve economic resilience, and enhance international standing. Accordingly, the number of studies in this field has increased in recent years. However, there is still no coherent global picture of the dimensions, components, and indicators that shape STD, and this gap remains a key challenge for knowledge production and for using research findings in policy decision-making. Since the field is inherently interdisciplinary and is addressed through diverse approaches, its scattered elements need to be integrated through scientometric methods in order to establish a clear analytical framework. This study uses a metasynthesis approach to extract, organize, and explain the dimensions and indicators of STD in a way that supports policy-making through a scientometric perspective. It also examines how STD emerges from the combination of different dimensions and indicators, and identifies recurring elements in the literature as markers of success or mechanisms of realization. Ultimately, the study aims to clarify the field’s conceptual structure and categorize key components into reliable dimensions and indicators for assessment and evaluation.
Methodology: This qualitative study uses a systematic metasynthesis design based on the seven-step framework of Sandelowski and Barroso (2007). A systematic search was conducted in reputable academic databases using keywords such as Science Diplomacy, STI Diplomacy, and their Persian equivalents. The search covered Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, IranDoc, and other relevant sources. In total, 1,957 records were identified at the initial stage. After screening according to inclusion and exclusion criteria, and based on title, abstract, full text, and conceptual fit with the research questions, 30 studies were selected for final analysis. Study quality was assessed using a 10-item evaluation tool. Data were then extracted and coded in three stages: open coding to identify initial concepts, axial coding to connect overlapping concepts and form broader categories, and selective coding to integrate categories into a coherent conceptual structure. To ensure credibility, inter-coder agreement was reported using a kappa-based index, and reliability was judged to be acceptable.
Findings: The findings show that STD can be organized into several broad dimensions. First, the outcome/result-oriented dimension refers to outcomes such as innovation performance, knowledge commercialization, national competitiveness, and international standing. In the literature, these outcomes are reflected in indicators such as improved innovation capacity, increased scientific outputs, and the conversion of research findings into tangible economic and technological benefits. Second, the enabling resources dimension includes technological infrastructure, specialized human capital, and financial-economic resources. Factors such as access to advanced technologies, the ability to absorb and transfer knowledge and technology, investment in R&D, and the role of economic resources in sustaining scientific and technological activities are highlighted as contextual elements. Third, the operational-interactive dimension refers to the mechanisms through which cooperation and interaction are implemented. This includes international scientific collaboration, global networking, joint knowledge production, participation in conferences and joint projects, and the role of public diplomacy and scientific soft power as tools of influence. Fourth, the policy-institutional dimension emphasizes coherent governance and institutional structures. It includes specialized institutions for foreign-science policymaking, strategic science and technology documents, multi-stakeholder participation mechanisms, transparency in policymaking, and institutional coordination as the main foundations for realizing STD.
Conclusion: The metasynthesis findings show that the selected studies use a range of indicators and components to assess and analyze this field. The evidence brings these indicators together across different dimensions and clarifies which ones function more often as success factors and which appear as strategies or realization mechanisms. A considerable number of indicators were identified across multiple conceptual structures, and these structures were systematically organized into four broad dimensions. Overall, the study demonstrates that STD is a multilayered concept: its realization depends not only on knowledge production, but also on aligning human and technological capacities, enabling international interaction, and providing institutional and policy frameworks. The resulting scientometric metasynthesis framework offers an operational basis for assessing and evaluating STD performance and for organizing science and technology policies at the national level. It can also support international comparative studies by enabling structural comparison and systematic evaluation of countries’ actions in the STD domain. Finally, using scientometric approaches in this field helps consolidate the literature, identify gaps, guide future research, and strengthen the link between specialized knowledge and policymaking.