Dr. Charmaine Voigt: Paradigm Shift in Knowledge Transfer
This blog series provides a step-by-step overview of the Wi4impact research project, which examines the knowledge transfer impact of science blogs and podcasts at German higher education and non-university research institutions. The first blog post presents a brief theoretical introduction to our research topic. The term knowledge transfer is by no means consistent within or outside the academic world. Broadly perceived, it denotes effects of research and science on the non-academic world. In the past, economic, and technological aspects dominated the understanding of knowledge transfer, focusing on natural sciences. Only recently there has been a paradigm shift toward a more societal significance that pays greater attention to social sciences and humanities (SSH). In the context of the umbrella term third mission, policy makers request forms of academic evaluation in all fields, which poses the question of how to measure the impact of knowledge transfer. The blog post proposes a set of definitions underlying a study of the impact of digital transfer media.