Rethinking science-policy-practice interaction for transformative sustainability research and innovation in Europe

TL;DR

The paper explores how scientists, policymakers, and society interact in Europe to address sustainability challenges and identifies factors for successful collaboration.

Contribution

The study provides insights into the science-policy-practice interaction in European sustainability research through interviews and workshops across 14 countries.

Findings

Meaningful interaction requires communication, co-creation, and inclusive participation across diverse European contexts.

Siloed structures and limited engagement with societal sectors hinder effective sustainability research and innovation.

Tools and approaches for interaction vary widely, requiring tailored strategies for different governance levels and cultures.

Abstract

Impactful knowledge generation and utilisation, aiming at addressing environmental and sustainability challenges, requires meaningful interaction between scientists, stakeholders, policymakers and society. This study identifies key success factors and challenges at the science-policy-practice interaction, drawing on document analysis, interviews, and workshops involving experts, policymakers, and funders of environmental and sustainability research and innovation across 14 European countries. Experiences from current practices highlight the highly variable contexts for interaction and communication throughout Europe, a diverse range of tools and approaches, and differing levels of available resources. Siloed structures and the need to engage various societal sectors and levels of governance remain significant challenges. The development and employment of expertise in communication, interaction and knowledge co-creation, capable to orchestrate this variability, is essential. Greater recognition of the diverse dimensions of inclusive participation is proposed to ensure that environmental and sustainability research and innovation, aimed at societal transformation, leaves no one behind.

Sustainability science is only useful if it reaches the people who make decisions about climate, ecosystems, or resources. The present study therefore set out to investigate how scientists, policymakers, and society actually interact in Europe—a continent remarkably diverse in terms of politics, culture, and resources—and what makes these interactions succeed or fail. The work draws on desk reviews, semi-structured interviews with approximately 300 experts (researchers, politicians, and funding bodies) across fourteen European countries, and workshops where participants tested the findings. The aim was to learn from real-world situations: the communication tools used, their funding mechanisms, and the practices and structures that facilitate or hinder dialogue. A key claim is that without inclusive, broad-based dialogue, European sustainability science risks remaining a collection of isolated projects rather than a coordinated engine for societal transformation.