Development, Implementation and Professionalisation of Knowledge Transfer Concepts in Non-university Economic Research

Tasks

As a European think tank, the Ifo Institute acts as an interface between academic research and practical policy-making. To further enhance the benefits of its work for society, the Ifo Institute wishes to adapt its services to more closely meet the needs of its target users groups and to tap fresh potential for knowledge transfer to society. With communication technologies and behaviour undergoing rapid changes, the Ifo Institute also wishes to align its expertise and the results of its work with the new framework conditions.

In view of this aim, a knowledge transfer concept oriented towards the future needs of the Ifo Institute, which can also be used as a prototype for other research institutes, is to be developed as part of the project entitled: "The development, implementation and professionalisation of knowledge transfer concepts" funded by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research from June 2015 to May 2018. Using additional competences and capacities, the effectiveness and efficiency of knowledge transfer by the Ifo Institute will be lifted to a new level via a systematic process. This process will encompass assessing the information requirements of socially relevant groups to analysing the use of existing transfer services and the concrete use of research results and other scientifically-based economic information thanks to newly explored avenues of knowledge transfer. Finding new instruments for providing society with economic information, and intensifying the use of mass media to raise awareness of Ifo's research results on an international level in particular, is one of the project's main focal points.

External partners from the consulting and media branches will bring their complementary expertise to the project. Prof. Hans-Bernd Brosius, Director of the Institute Communications and Media Research at the University of Munich, and Dr. Alexander Haas will provide support with their expertise in communications.

Methods

Surveys, workshops.