Multiple traps of scientific knowledge transfer: Comparative case studies based on the RIU model from Vietnam, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, and Sweden

Abstract

The transfer of scientific knowledge has received great attention by scientists and policymakers especially in fields that are crucially dependent on scientific knowledge like biodiversity conservation or climate change. Although many efforts have been made to better understand how scientific expertise can have an impact on politics, few studies have investigated the influence of limiting factors on scientific knowledge transfer. In this paper, we use a meta-analysis of 13 existing individual case studies from 5 different countries that all have in common that they apply the Research–Integration–Utilization model (the RIU model) to analyze limits of scientific knowledge transfer within research, integration, and utilization. Our results show that the factors of research, integration, and utilization are independent from each other in limiting or increasing the transfer of scientific knowledge. The independence of the RIU's factors also reveals that the increase of scientific knowledge alone will not lead to an improvement in knowledge transfer. There is empirical evidence in our cases providing that utilization could also be possible without a strong scientific basis, and successful integration could be based on weak scientific grounds. As a result of the independence of the different factors the RIU model consists of, the traps of scientific knowledge transfer could be observed in one or multiple RIU's factors and therefore improvements in scientific knowledge transfer should be orientated toward solely one or multiple factors instead of the whole process. We recommend that single improvements of different individual factors (research, integration, utilization) can help to improve the whole process of scientific knowledge transfer.