13 Transcending the Loading Dock Paradigm—Rethinking …
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form complex management tasks. I therefore stress the internal dimension of T&I
as a key field of action that should be covered by project coordination.
In this context, transfer refers mainly to the realm of knowledge transfer among
project team members. It includes processes that aim at informative exchange about
knowledge stocks (expert knowledge, interests, agendas, norms, values, etc.) and at an
integration of different epistemologies for the cause of the research question. Transfer
evolves into a field of coordination action that must be continually considered and
highlighted during the early stages of the project cycle in which fundamental research
issues are framed that may be impossible to correct at later stages of the research
process. Transfer in this context can also be understood as processes of knowledge
internalisation (individual learning, group learning) and externalisation (i.e. making
tacit knowledge explicit).
To foster internal transfer, it makes sense to implement a set of rules and regulations, as well as integration methods, i.e. methods that support the exchange of people
and their knowledge. Research projects usually consist of relatively loose networks
that are bound by their common research interest and that are not subject to any
other regulations than those provided by the project funding agency and the research
partners’ respective affiliation. Thus, project rules such as control mechanisms and
codes of conduct are ideally a result of negotiation processes within the project. In
other words, internal implementation is a matter of transdisciplinary research design.
Another notion of implementation in this context refers to projects that form
experimental spaces or work on technological innovations. In the course of research
projects, prototypes or comparable artefacts may be implemented to gather data or
observe their performance in a laboratory setting.
Whereas the internal dimension covers activities within the project boundary, the
external dimension of T&I highlights action arenas beyond the boundary of the
research project.
In this context, transfer invokes processes and activities of interaction with the
project environment (e.g. public relations, participation, and feedback loops). The
purpose and function of external transfer can range between simply providing information about research activities and empowering target audiences. Transfer is not
solely considered as a punctual, one-way minded, communicative act, but rather
understood as a reflexive mode of science that stimulates social learning and as a
vehicle to close the application gap of scientific results.
In contrast, external implementation can be understood as a result of external
transfer activities. It describes two realms: first, it is the strategic approach (or
pathway) on how to stimulate change towards a preferred direction in a given research
context. This requires a mental model acquired by the research team about how transformations actually (might) work in their project setting to be effective. Second (and
in accordance with the conventional understanding of implementation in applied
research), it describes the output(s) of a research project; the communicative format
or artefact that is designed to suit the target audience’s expectations.
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form complex management tasks. I therefore stress the internal dimension of T&I
as a key field of action that should be covered by project coordination.
In this context, transfer refers mainly to the realm of knowledge transfer among
project team members. It includes processes that aim at informative exchange about
knowledge stocks (expert knowledge, interests, agendas, norms, values, etc.) and at an
integration of different epistemologies for the cause of the research question. Transfer
evolves into a field of coordination action that must be continually considered and
highlighted during the early stages of the project cycle in which fundamental research
issues are framed that may be impossible to correct at later stages of the research
process. Transfer in this context can also be understood as processes of knowledge
internalisation (individual learning, group learning) and externalisation (i.e. making
tacit knowledge explicit).
To foster internal transfer, it makes sense to implement a set of rules and regulations, as well as integration methods, i.e. methods that support the exchange of people
and their knowledge. Research projects usually consist of relatively loose networks
that are bound by their common research interest and that are not subject to any
other regulations than those provided by the project funding agency and the research
partners’ respective affiliation. Thus, project rules such as control mechanisms and
codes of conduct are ideally a result of negotiation processes within the project. In
other words, internal implementation is a matter of transdisciplinary research design.
Another notion of implementation in this context refers to projects that form
experimental spaces or work on technological innovations. In the course of research
projects, prototypes or comparable artefacts may be implemented to gather data or
observe their performance in a laboratory setting.
Whereas the internal dimension covers activities within the project boundary, the
external dimension of T&I highlights action arenas beyond the boundary of the
research project.
In this context, transfer invokes processes and activities of interaction with the
project environment (e.g. public relations, participation, and feedback loops). The
purpose and function of external transfer can range between simply providing information about research activities and empowering target audiences. Transfer is not
solely considered as a punctual, one-way minded, communicative act, but rather
understood as a reflexive mode of science that stimulates social learning and as a
vehicle to close the application gap of scientific results.
In contrast, external implementation can be understood as a result of external
transfer activities. It describes two realms: first, it is the strategic approach (or
pathway) on how to stimulate change towards a preferred direction in a given research
context. This requires a mental model acquired by the research team about how transformations actually (might) work in their project setting to be effective. Second (and
in accordance with the conventional understanding of implementation in applied
research), it describes the output(s) of a research project; the communicative format
or artefact that is designed to suit the target audience’s expectations.