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Research Professional News: Thought Boxes and Bubbles

16 Oct 2022
A paradox box could improve academic engagement with policy, according to Nic Beech, Katy J Mason, Robert MacIntosh and Diana Beech.

Originally found at Research Professional News.

Given that society is not short of challenges that could benefit from academic input, how can universities and policymakers collaborate more effectively to provide workable solutions? The answer may be that they shouldn’t—in the traditional sense—but instead should establish zones of contiguous learning in which two different cultures come into touch with each other without being required to satisfy precursors for collaborating.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, collaborative working between policymakers and academics shifted to a new level. Expertise was brought to bear on vaccine innovation and development, supply chains were established, and joint working between universities, pharmaceutical and health organisations was achieved when politicians were overt in being science-led. 

There were episodes of waste and sub-optimal decision making, but for a while researchers and policymakers in many parts of the world had a common definition of success, explicitly valued the role of the other and shared a sense of urgency and priority.


Continue reading the original article at Research Professional News.

Read the original research in Academy of Management Learning & Education.

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