Aligning Research Priorities with Societal Demands; Navigating the Energy Transition in the Netherlands

Abstract

This thesis explores the alignment of research priorities with societal demands regarding the energy transition in the Netherlands. Given the interdisciplinary nature of this transition, understanding societal demand's role in guiding energy transition research is important. Consequently, a case study was con-ducted on the Dutch Research Agenda (NWA), fostered by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO), with a specific focus on its 'Energy Transition' route. Despite attempts to incorporate societal demand into research programs, it remains unclear whether these objectives have been met and if Dutch energy transition research adequately addresses societal needs. The evolution of research priorities and universities' evolving role in responding to societal demands has been researched in recent decades. By navigating through the realms of Mode 2 research and Pasteur’s Quadrant, the study seeks to evaluate the impact of research programs like the NWA and their respon-siveness to societal demand. The study aims to contribute to the development of evaluation methods for transformative innovation policy research programs on a quantitative manner. Interviews were conduct-ed to support these findings. The findings of this study reveal a progressive alignment of research priorities with societal demands over time. Societal topics outlined in the NWA route program have gradually become more integrated into research, as evidenced by keyword analyses. This trend is noticeable in both research funded by the NWO and research without NWO funding. However, the specific influence of the NWA program on this alignment remains unclear, given the limited scientific output attributed to the NWA route of energy transition. A comparative analysis between NWO-funded and non-NWO-funded research articles indicates that Non-NWO funded research tend to have a greater societal impact. These articles exhibit higher social media engagement, citations in news and on blog pages, and more partnerships with non-academic part-ners. This difference is partly explained due to NWO's tendency to fund less experienced researchers. Addressing this issue may involve strategies such as funding more experienced researchers or imple-menting programs facilitating collaboration between younger researchers and societal partners. In conclusion, while research priorities in the energy transition have progressively aligned better with societal demand over time, the contribution of NWO, particularly the NWA energy transition route, ap-pears less substantial than anticipated. This underscores the need for strategies to enhance the societal impact of research, including fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and ensuring research agendas in-tegrate more use-inspired basic research.