Addressing complex global challenges is an effort that requires co-creation among R&I actors and valorisation of knowledge across disciplinary boundaries. The uptake of all types of research results is necessary in order to create societal and economic benefits. Social sciences, arts, and humanities enable considering diverse experiences, needs and perspectives.
A conversation with Dr Outi Vanharanta
To prepare a workshop on Shaping Europe’s future: Knowledge Valorisation of Social Sciences, Humanities, and Arts for societal impact and human-centred innovation on 14 November 2024 in Brussels, we have asked a few questions to Dr Outi Vanharanta, Research Impact Officer at the Finnish Research Impact Foundation and co-author of the study and white paper on ‘The state of industry-academia collaboration in the social sciences, humanities and arts? Perspectives from the Nordics and beyond’.
Where do we stand with translating research from social sciences, humanities and arts (SSAH) into innovation?
In recent years, the role of SSAH in innovation has gained increasing recognition. While the so-called STEM fields provide crucial technical solutions, SSAH has the potential to contribute to the development of ethical and sustainable innovations by offering deeper insights into human behaviour and societal dynamics. SSAH can be particularly relevant for the development of intangible assets such as brands, data, software and intellectual capital, which is crucial for economic value creation.
It is widely acknowledged that SSAH can offer innovative and creative approaches for addressing complex social phenomena such as polarisation, ethical implications of AI and behavioural shifts for climate action. The role of these disciplines is not necessarily to provide unambiguous solutions, but to challenge traditional ways of thinking about problems and to provide a variety of perspectives. However, we have not yet fully capitalized on the potential of SSAH to drive innovation in addressing societal challenges.
Knowledge valorisation engages all R&I actors to create social and economic value from research results. One channel to do so are collaborations between academia and industry. What are your findings and recommendations about the role of SSAH?
The findings of our study on the state of industry-academia collaboration in SSAH show that researchers and businesses share the view that there is mutual benefit and value in collaboration. Many SSAH research topics, such as the green transition and the implications of novel technologies, are highly relevant to businesses across sectors and the majority of company respondents acknowledged that SSAH research can have a positive influence on their ideation and innovation activities. This shared interest creates strong foundations for collaboration.
It is noteworthy that SSAH researchers tend to see benefits primarily in expanding the impact of their research, building networks, and generating new ideas. This perspective suggests that the value of collaboration is often linked more to disseminating research outcomes than to the research process itself. While this is positive, we aim to also encourage more direct, practical collaboration in the research phase.
Several barriers for initiating collaboration however persist. Time constraints, differing timelines between academia and industry, and a lack of institutional support are major hurdles identified by researchers. Researchers often struggle to prioritize collaboration due to the perception that it falls outside core academic tasks. Furthermore, the absence of established networks and practices for SSAH-industry partnerships makes initiating collaborations difficult.
Our study shows that researchers and businesses share the view that collaboration in SSHA offers mutual benefits and value. However, systemic changes are essential to enhance collaboration, including targeted funding programs, greater interdisciplinary networking opportunities and dedicated brokerage services.
To enhance SSAA-industry collaboration, systemic changes are needed. These include targeted funding programs, greater interdisciplinary networking opportunities, and dedicated brokerage services to help researchers find industry partners. We also need to broaden how we measure impact of research collaboration to better capture the contributions of SSAH that may be more difficult to recognize than those of STEM research. Finally, improving mutual understanding between SSAH researchers and businesses is crucial to create better conditions for the identification of common interests and opportunities for collaboration.
How was the reception of these findings and recommendations by stakeholders in the Nordic R&I ecosystems and beyond?
The launch of our study and white paper have sparked broad interest in academic, business, and donor networks, indicating a widespread recognition of the need to address these issues. It has also spurred more discussion around the topic particularly in universities.
Although the publication of our report has sparked interest and discussion, the next crucial step is implementing tangible measures to advance knowledge valorisation in SSAH. Our current focus is on identifying practical ways to move forward, and we are actively seeking collaborators to pilot new approaches.
What is needed to transform the recommendations into practices? How do we extend them to stakeholders across Europe?
I believe that transforming these recommendations into practical solutions will require not only a multi-actor approach and genuine collaboration between stakeholders, but also a shift in mindset. While we for example suggest developing low-barrier funding instruments to encourage SSAH-industry collaboration, their effectiveness will be limited if support structures, such as opportunities for connecting researchers with industry partners, are lacking or if this type of collaboration is not fully recognized. Institutional commitment, paired with a change in attitudes, is needed for success.
Involving stakeholders directly in developing these new practices is equally important to ensure that they meet the real needs of those they are designed for. Clear objectives and intended outcomes must be defined to guide both implementation and evaluation. I think these principles apply to all knowledge valorisation practices.
SSAH researchers also need to learn to think about the impact of their research from a business perspective and become aware of the problems and challenges that are relevant to the business community. SSAH researchers are already good at seeing wider societal impact and influencing e.g. policy processes, but there is still work to be done in scaling up and realising impact through business.
So far, no one has fully grasped these challenges and there is a need for coordinated ownership and more resources, perhaps also at national and EU levels, so that universities and businesses see the benefits of SSAH from the perspective of innovation, which are not as obvious as in STEM fields.