JEN_T_04 Foundations of Transfer Science

Objectives / Research Questions

This transfer science research project is situated within the subsection of education, as laid out in the application. Our aim is to investigate the methodological and theoretical development of knowledge transfer on the basis of a methodological reflection. The project seeks to carry out a meta-theoretical investigation of research methods that are used in science-practice transfer by creating an introductory edited volume or textbook. This project contributes to basic research on transfer science, an area that, to date, lacks integrative, interdisciplinary, and systematic overviews of all the participative and collaborative research approaches used in the German-speaking world. The project targets researchers working on and teaching about transfer science (both at RISC and externally), students interested in transfer science, and partners from the field who are participating in participative research projects and seek to further engage with this issue. In the scope of the project, we will first identify and collect the research approaches and methods of practice-science-practice dialogue across all disciplines found at RISC, as well as from our partners in the field and international literature. This will be followed by a critical analysis of each based on its potential to promote cohesion and participation – including approaches such as participative research, practice-based research, public sociology, citizen science, action research, oral history, etc. The outcome of this will be the creation of an introductory edited volume at the cutting edge of international research that will serve as a standard work on transfer science in the German-speaking world and as a textbook in the university and technical college setting.

Thematic relation to social cohesion

The practice of knowledge transfer and mutual exchanges with practitioners from the field assumes a central position in RISC’s foundational concept. Research approaches that integrate actors from civil society as equals within the research process serve as a cornerstone of our understanding of knowledge transfer. Research about diversity and cohesion in society that seeks to generate social and policy advice must rely on the expertise and skills of actors within society and not overlook the diversified realities of different social groups – which simply reproduces their marginalization. At the same time, participative and collaborative approaches to research can help dismantle the exclusionary hierarchies of superordinate and subordinate relations while also promoting the social participation of civil society actors through inclusion in research. Scientifically analysing and critically reflecting on the different research approaches adopted across various disciplines are essential for identifying and exploiting their potential for increasing social cohesion while also making a genuine contribution to research on social cohesion in general.