From knowledge to impact: when research connects with public action

Patents, companies, start-ups and new products entering the market are undoubtedly an essential part of knowledge transfer processes. Research can lead to technological innovations, specialised services and business initiatives that generate economic activity and contribute to regional development.

But knowledge transfer is much broader than that. It also happens when scientific evidence helps to design better public policies, when a methodology developed by a research group improves a service for the public, when an administration incorporates expert knowledge to make more informed decisions, or when a local organisation collaborates with researchers to better understand a social challenge.

This perspective is particularly relevant at a time when public administrations must face increasingly complex challenges. The digitalisation of public services, mobility, water management, territorial governance, adaptation to climate change and social cohesion require well-founded, innovative responses capable of generating long-term impact.

In this context, scientific knowledge has much to contribute. Universities and knowledge centres generate evidence, methodologies, analytical tools and critical capacity that can help to better understand these challenges and identify possible solutions. But for this knowledge to have a real impact, it must connect with the actors who work on these challenges every day and who have the capacity to turn it into concrete actions.

This is where public administrations become strategic allies. Not only because they manage services, drive programmes, develop policies and make decisions that directly affect people's lives, but also because they have first-hand knowledge of the territory's needs, the limitations of public services and the actual conditions for implementation. This proximity to the challenges allows for more relevant questions to be asked, better guides applied research and facilitates the translation of results into concrete actions.

However, this collaboration is not always straightforward. Administrations need applicable responses, useful evidence for decision-making, and solutions tailored to very specific contexts. Research staff, for their part, need time, resources and stability to develop rigorous knowledge. Added to all this are the administrative, regulatory and procedural constraints that often accompany this type of collaboration. Making these timescales, needs and ways of working compatible is one of the main challenges of collaboration between universities and the public administration.

Another factor is added to this: often the different actors are unaware of the opportunities available to them. Public administrations are not always aware of the scientific and technological capabilities that exist in universities. Researchers are not always aware of the specific needs faced by local councils, county councils or other public bodies. And, in many cases, the instruments that allow these collaborations to be established are not well known either.

When discussing cooperation between universities and public administrations, it is common to think of competitive research projects. But the reality is much more diverse. Collaboration agreements, research contracts, endowed chairs, public tenders or European projects are some of the mechanisms that can facilitate the generation of applied knowledge and its transfer to the territory. However, identifying the most suitable route is not always straightforward. There are often shared interests and opportunities for collaboration, but it is not clear which instrument is best suited to each case, nor how to turn a need into a viable project.

As important as having these instruments is giving visibility to experiences that are already working. Often, one administration discovers a new way to collaborate with the university because another administration has already done so. And many researchers identify new opportunities when they learn about similar experiences pioneered by other research groups. Sharing success stories is not just a way of recognising the work that has been done; it is also a tool for generating new opportunities and inspiring new alliances.

But there is one particularly relevant finding: collaboration does not arise spontaneously. It requires meeting spaces, trust, mutual understanding and people capable of translating different languages. In some cases, potential collaboration opportunities fail to materialise simply because the actors have not had the chance to meet or explore possible avenues for working together.

This is where intermediary spaces play an increasingly relevant role. Not just as facilitators of projects, but as connectors between needs and knowledge, between public challenges and scientific capabilities, between real questions and possible answers. Innovation is not just about generating new ideas; it is also about creating the conditions for these ideas to reach where they can have a real impact.

Perhaps, rather than asking ourselves how to transfer knowledge, we should be asking how to build shared impact. And the answer inevitably lies in strengthening alliances between universities, public authorities and the other stakeholders who work every day to tackle collective challenges.

Because knowledge generates value when it is shared. But it generates transformation when it is co-created and turns into action.