Deliverables

Now more than ever before is a need for attention towards research translation. As economies and people navigate the way out of the pandemic that brought regions to a standstill and crippled innovation efforts, boosting the ways in which scientific outputs can be disseminated and employed in practice remains a providential priority for governments around the world.

By acknowledging a distinct Research Translation Mission, distinct from research and innovation agenda, Europe can leverage the resources, expertise and knowledge accumulated in universities to unleash collaborative innovation opportunities with industry. Such efforts can in turn advance Europe’s mission-oriented research and innovation agenda for the benefit of the wider society.

The OpenInnoTrain project has explored ways in which research translation can be harnessed across four sectors critical to modern knowledge-based economy – FinTech, CleanTech, FoodTech and Industry 4.0. As an interim step, this report has considered the interpretations of research translation, its need, motivators and barriers and how Europe’s research translation performance could be improved. In drawing from policies and practices around the world, several mechanisms are identified alongside a framework for pathways to research impact.

The project has found that, for university-industry collaboration to be fully effective and research ideas to transform to useful knowledge, it needs to be matched with appropriate means and modes of research translation. This besides the current affordances to research and innovation structure and formal and informal mechanisms of knowledge exchange, also calls for attention to individuals and their idiosyncrasies at kernel of the knowledge creation, assimilation and use. Research translation needs to be recognised as part of a stable science, innovation and industry vision for a better tomorrow and empowered Europe.