Aligning research uptake with context: Supporting researchers’ decisions towards context-appropriate research uptake strategies

Academic and non-academic societal actors alike are seeking to optimize the ways in which scientific research may contribute to sustainable development, for which a diverse range of research uptake strategies have been developed. Yet, while the literature emphasizes that the appropriateness of research uptake strategies depends on the context in which they are applied, designing appropriate research uptake strategies to fit a specific context remains a challenging decision-making task for many researchers. In this paper, we conceptualize appropriate research uptake strategies to be those that align with the research and societal sustainability contexts in which they are applied and account for the interactions that emerge between these two contexts. With the aim of supporting researchers in designing more appropriate research uptake strategies in a wide range of contexts, we then build on this conceptualization to propose an appropriateness-typology distinguishing between four broad research uptake approaches: the knowledge transfer approach; the commissioned research approach; the direct engagement approach; and the co-production approach. The typology matches each approach to the dynamic research and societal sustainability contexts in which it is most likely to be appropriate, while seeking to accommodate nuanced understandings of how researchers may approach uptake given different contexts and at the same time aiming at parsimony. By explicitly conceptualizing the role of context in research uptake decision-making and taking a first step towards an appropriateness-typology of research uptake, we hope to empower researchers to design more context-appropriate research uptake strategies such as to better contribute to sustainable development.