Why is science important for society?
We live in a knowledge society. Knowledge – in addition to mineral resources, capital and physical activity – is an increasingly important resource. It contributes to the functioning of democracies and innovation and helps countries to be competitive on a global scale. But science which contributes significantly to knowledge production, is confronted with new challenges.
The role of science in an increasingly fragmented and digital society, as well as its significance for politics and civil society, will be redefined. Science can never offer a universal truth or an objective representation of the world. It can, however, offer methodologically verifiable interpretations and can question certainties and trigger reflections. Science has an important social role and at the same time bears great responsibility precisely when the situation is not clear. How can science communicate existing uncertainties and disputes clearly and still avoid the impression of arbitrariness?
What our directors say about science and society:
"Ein ernsthafter Transfer zwischen Forschung und Praxis braucht Zeit und Energie. Heißt das, dass wir die Dinge in Ruhe lassen sollten? Nein! Wenn du bereit bist, Zeit und Energie zu investieren, belohnt der Transfer mit Ansätzen, die du zuvor nicht gesehen hast, Ergebnissen, die du nicht kennst, Fragen, die du nicht gestellt hast, Problemen, die du nicht wahrgenommen hast sowie mit Methoden, die dir nicht bekannt waren. Das kann unglaublich inspirierend sein."
Björn Scheuermann
Direktor des Instituts
"Eines der Motive, das meinen Austausch mit der Zivilgesellschaft antreibt, ist es, die Voraussetzungen oder Weltanschauungen in Frage zu stellen, die wir für selbstverständlich halten und die daher unsere Fähigkeit zur demokratischen Selbstbestimmung einschränken. Wir müssen zunächst die Vielfalt der Wege erkennen, die eine technologische Entwicklung einschlagen kann, bevor wir über Möglichkeiten nachdenken können, sie gemeinsam und bewusst zu gestalten."
Jeanette Hofmann
Direktorin des Instituts
"In den letzten Jahren hat sich die Welt verändert: Prinzipien der wissenschaftlichen Arbeit, die früher als selbstverständlich angesehen wurden, sind politisch geworden. Dies zeigt sich besonders deutlich in der internationalen Zusammenarbeit. Es versteht sich von selbst, dass die Forschung nicht auf Vereinfachung abzielt, sondern Vielfalt und Unterschiede sichtbar macht. Und die Gemeinschaft der Forscher ist wirklich global und nicht nationalistisch wie viele politische Bewegungen."
Wolfgang Schulz
Direktor des Instituts
"Das Zusammenspiel von Forschung und Praxis könnte dazu beitragen, neue und hoch relevante Forschungsfragen zu stellen. Deshalb ist es wichtig, Möglichkeiten und Räume zu schaffen, um sich zu treffen und Ideen auszutauschen. Deswegen haben wir ein Format entwickelt, das den Austausch zwischen Startup-Gründern, Managern etablierter mittelständischer Unternehmen und Forschern fördert – und damit eine dringend benötigte Austauschplattform eingerichtet."
Thomas Schildhauer
Direktor des Insituts
What is knowledge transfer?
The interaction between science and society ensures that knowledge is exchanged, tested and reflected between the various interest groups. This interaction is often referred to as knowledge transfer. For example, one speaks of knowledge transfer when medical research is applied in practice or when certain technologies are based on prior research.
Why does the HIIG speak of science communication?
Contrary to the widespread idea that there is a unidirectional transfer from science to society, the HIIG speaks regularly of the comprehensive term ‘science communication’. Knowledge is changeable and arises out of dialogue when it is shared. An important aspect of knowledge production is the constant exchange between different actors and institutions. Therefore, one should not speak of a one-sided transfer, but of a productive dialogue between scientific and social actors. Science bears the responsibility to keep the door open for communication and to constantly examine and reflect on the knowledge it has gained.
We are committed to responsible, transparent and problem-oriented science communication (as a conceptual extension of knowledge transfer). That is why we strive for a dialogue on an equal level and for empathy for different stakeholder groups and pursue the approach of accepting uncertainties in science and making them transparent.
FAQs about science and society
Knowledge is an increasingly important resource in our society. Science contributes significantly to the production of knowledge and thus contributes to the functioning of democracies, drives innovation and helps countries to be competitive in the global economy.
Science can never offer a universal truth or an objective representation of the world. However, it can question the conditions of validity and trigger reflection. Science thus has an important social role to play.
The social effects of science communication – i.e. the consequences of a communicative relationship between science and society – are called Impact of Science. A distinction is made between internal, i.e. within academia, and external impact. Internal impact is often measured in the form of publication metrics. Impact of Science is complex and cannot be broken down to quantitative numbers.
At HIIG, Impact of Science is one of the research topics of the "Knowledge and Society" research programme, in which the effects of science on society are analysed.
Read more: In a commentary in the FAZ, HIIG researchers Benedikt Fecher, Sascha Friesike and Gert G. Wagner explain why today's methods for measuring scientific relevance prevent the perception and development of significant research.
Measuring the impact of science is complex and has significant limitations. What is important here is a mix of methods that uses both qualitative and quantitative evaluation procedures to measure the social relevance of scientific research. The IMPAQT research project investigates possible measurement indicators both theoretically and empirically.
Altmetrics are tools to measure the attention a scientific publication receives on the net. The company Altmetric, which offers the software, is part of the Digital Science Group and is an example of possible altmetrics. With Altmetric, it offers a tool that visually shows how much attention a scientific paper receives in various online media.
The Altmetric score is regarded by many as a measure of social relevance and thus an indicator of impact. Yet, the Altmetric score does not provide a serious indication of the social relevance of a particular research.
Altmetrics are only able to measure the Impact of Science for research within a limited context, because they contribute to a scenario where researchers become more concerned with maximizing the number of likes, among other things. They do not automatically increase social relevance.
Impact of Science is diffuse and difficult to attribute. It takes a long time for it to set in and the perspective of the measurement indicators and measurability can change significantly during this period.
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