Hochschule
München
University of
Applied Sciences

Ministry-affiliated research institutions as drivers of transformation

To what extent can government-funded research organisations become drivers of social transformation?

The ‘Transferre’ research project aims to support the departmental research institutions of the Bavarian State Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Tourism (StMELF) in becoming drivers of sustainable transformation.

In order to achieve climate targets and overcome the scientific, technological and social challenges of the future, sustainability must shift from being the concern of a few to the concern of many. It should evolve from an obligation with negative connotations of restrictions and sacrifice into a way of life that has a positive impact on people’s individual experiences of the world around them.

This will require far-reaching transformations. These transformations depend on both technological and social innovations. And they depend on these innovations being accepted, taken up and integrated into everyday life. This applies in particular to the fields of agriculture and forestry, as well as to our understanding of ecology.

Whilst new technologies are already being tailored and successfully introduced to agricultural and forestry businesses by sectoral research organisations, there is often a lack of knowledge exchange with other stakeholder groups in society. Yet it is only through direct dialogue that their concerns – for example, in the areas of nature conservation, leisure activities and animal welfare – can be incorporated into research projects and dissemination initiatives. A shift in the understanding of the role of sectoral research institutions – centred on dialogue-oriented communication with new stakeholder groups – goes hand in hand with a change in the social role of these institutions.

Part of the project involves exploring and testing, through co-creation and with the involvement of representatives from organised civil society, the opportunities, expectations, requirements and limitations of such a transformed role for departmental research institutions. HM:UniverCity is leading this co-creation process in cooperation with Fraunhofer CeRRI in Berlin.

The aim is to jointly develop and implement new formats for exchange and knowledge transfer. The objective is to use the insights gained during this process to define the conditions under which departmental research institutions can become catalysts and driving forces for transformation processes relevant to society as a whole, and to make these conditions accessible to other research institutions.

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