The emergence of virtual research environments has enabled new ways of working for researchers and scholars. The extent to which these opportunities are realized varies by field and institutional context. In this lecture, Paul Wouters will explore these developments from the perspective of the experiences in the Virtual Knowledge Studio, an experimental institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. This lecture will discuss the nature of the ongoing fundamental transformation in science and scholarship by analyzing concrete examples from the Virtual Knowledge Studio design. Paul Wouters also will touch upon the question which theoretical framework might be most productive to understand these changes. Last, he will ask the question which role accountability regimes and research assessments might play in the years to come.