Poorly implemented academies

The challenge of knowledge transfer in the Social Sciences and Humanities

Abstract

In the presentation of a conference held at the University of Manchester in April 2019 under the title Academics, Professionals and Publics: Changes in the Ecologies of Knowledge Work, Eric Lybeck, founder of the organisation Civic Sociology, raised the paradox that probably never before in history has knowledge played such a fundamental role in the development of human life, but also never before has there been such a growing distrust of the knowledge generated by scientists, experts and, in general, by those who are (we are) professionally engaged in the work of producing knowledge. And he invited us not to dismiss this paradox with the disdain of the "sage" towards the "layperson", but to reflect on the responsibility that the scientific community itself might be taking in nurturing this distancing: "Could these dynamics be caused by the way in which knowledge is organised institutionally, politically and publicly", Lybeck asked. An invitation, as we said, to rethink our practices and ways of doing things, the criteria with which we give value to the research we carry out, the interests (not necessarily spurious) we serve or the use given to the knowledge we produce.