{"id":1049,"date":"2019-01-31T11:47:36","date_gmt":"2019-01-31T10:47:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.essi-net.eu\/?p=1049"},"modified":"2019-05-06T14:45:36","modified_gmt":"2019-05-06T12:45:36","slug":"wanted-transformative-ideas-and-practices-in-science-and-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.essi-net.eu\/?p=1049","title":{"rendered":"Wanted: transformative ideas and practices in science and research"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Author(s): Julia M. Wittmayer, DRIFT, Erasmus University Rotterdam<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Problems and challenges in science and research seem to abound \u2013 starting from claims about \u2018alternative\u2019 facts, a publication culture with the need to publish high numbers of articles preferably in selected journals, the focus of universities on research at the expense of education or the need for societal relevance and co-creation.<\/p>\n

The latter hints towards the increasing intertwinement between society and science, which some consider as deeply problematic since it infringes on academic freedom, personal integrity and the objectivity of research results; others welcome the developments towards more #citizenscience, transdisciplinary research or #action research as a democratization of knowledge production and the only way to address pressing societal challenges. Still others acknowledge the fact that research should be societally relevant but separate the process of knowledge production from its societal impact.<\/p>\n

What is considered problematic in current science and research differs and so do the proposed ways forward. While some developments are high on political agendas such as open science<\/a> and responsible research and innovation<\/a>, others are translated into manifestos such as the Slow Science Manifesto<\/a> or the Transformative Social Innovation Manifesto<\/a>. More and more of these developments are formalized: Think of the Science shop movement, the DESIS network<\/a> (design for social innovation and sustainability), the European Citizen Science Association<\/a>, the Fab Foundation<\/a>, Action Research Plus<\/a> or Science in Transition<\/a>.<\/p>\n

At the Social Innovation Community, we think of these developments as social innovations in science and research. Rather than considering social innovation as only being a topic to be researched, we argue that research can also be subject to social innovation \u2013 there are countless innovative ways of organising, doing and framing science and research that are worth exploring.<\/p>\n

We would like to provide a platform for the diversity of alternative narratives about what science and research can be, by exploring the following questions with you:<\/p>\n