LIST OF PANELS

The world today continues to be driven by knowledge and so do policies aimed at solving increasingly complex policy problems. Universities, as key organizations generating new knowledge and training future experts, are no longer expected to only to do that but also be active in disseminating the knowledge generated within them both towards societies and politics to help addressing transversal problems. At the same time, in policymaking expertise and an up-to-date knowledgebase are increasingly used to legitimize policies as well as attempt to make them more effective in solving problems, e.g. by better understanding means-ends connections.

This panel focuses on the processes how knowledge is developed, shaped, promoted, contested, accepted or rejected in the context of modern policymaking. In the context of growing internationalisation and regionalisation, as well as countervailing forces such as neo-nationalism, there is more global collaboration and competition in a variety of fields and activities. This opens many questions such as: What are the roles of knowledge actors (who are they? What expertise do they possess?) in these processes and at which governance levels are they concentrating (if any)? What roles do universities as well as other research organizations and the results of their work play for addressing today’s transversal policy problems? How do system structures affect the ways in which the processes unfold (whose voice is heard and how?)? How do we characterise the policymaking dynamics observed (do sectoral boundaries matter, or are policy legacies and path dependencies more explanatory?)? And what are the effects of integrating “knowledge” into policymaking (to what extent has the knowledge turn reconfigured the world of politics?)?

The panel aims to shed more light on these and other related questions and participants are invited to explore dynamics, structures, and actors by focusing on a wide set of policy sectors. The sessions and papers presented in this panel can focus on any policymaking environment in which (a) knowledge plays a key role (e.g., in the form of expertise, policy advice), or (b) knowledge defines the sector (e.g., higher education, research, innovation). All proposals should have a clear conceptual framework, describe research design, data and methods, as well as highlight the expected contribution. Comparative designs focusing on different empirical contexts are especially welcome. Accepted papers should reflect on the complex interplay among the different aspects highlighted in the panel (e.g., dynamics between actors, countries, or governance levels).

The world today continues to be driven by knowledge and so do policies aimed at solving increasingly complex policy problems. Universities, as key organizations generating new knowledge and training future experts, are no longer expected to only to do that but also be active in disseminating the knowledge generated within them both towards societies and politics to help addressing transversal problems. At the same time, in policymaking expertise and an up-to-date knowledgebase are increasingly used to legitimize policies as well as attempt to make them more effective in solving problems, e.g. by better understanding means-ends connections.

This panel focuses on the processes how knowledge is developed, shaped, promoted, contested, accepted or rejected in the context of modern policymaking. In the context of growing internationalisation and regionalisation, as well as countervailing forces such as neo-nationalism, there is more global collaboration and competition in a variety of fields and activities. This opens many questions such as: What are the roles of knowledge actors (who are they? What expertise do they possess?) in these processes and at which governance levels are they concentrating (if any)? What roles do universities as well as other research organizations and the results of their work play for addressing today’s transversal policy problems? How do system structures affect the ways in which the processes unfold (whose voice is heard and how?)? How do we characterise the policymaking dynamics observed (do sectoral boundaries matter, or are policy legacies and path dependencies more explanatory?)? And what are the effects of integrating “knowledge” into policymaking (to what extent has the knowledge turn reconfigured the world of politics?)?

The panel aims to shed more light on these and other related questions and participants are invited to explore dynamics, structures, and actors by focusing on a wide set of policy sectors. The sessions and papers presented in this panel can focus on any policymaking environment in which (a) knowledge plays a key role (e.g., in the form of expertise, policy advice), or (b) knowledge defines the sector (e.g., higher education, research, innovation). All proposals should have a clear conceptual framework, describe research design, data and methods, as well as highlight the expected contribution. Comparative designs focusing on different empirical contexts are especially welcome. Accepted papers should reflect on the complex interplay among the different aspects highlighted in the panel (e.g., dynamics between actors, countries, or governance levels).