The on-line market of research topics as a tool of enhancing the cooperation among CSOs and science in the Czech Republic
Abstract
In my paper I will discuss the main outcomes of our last three years work in the field of cooperation among CSOs and the academic sector in the Czech Republic which are relevant for setting shared research agendas and producing knowledge by CSOs and research institutes. I will focus on two aspects: (1) research evaluating the current situation in the field of CSOs and academia cooperation in the Czech Republic; and (2) the reflection of the process of establishing the on-line market of research topics among CSOs and academia.
The way the outcomes of the research determined the preparation of the web-site will be introduced. To gain the overview of the current situation we have conducted the sociological research based on studying the official documents, in-depth interviews and focus groups with representatives of CSOs and academic institutions.
The research showed that the collaboration between CSOs and universities is already happening and that some parts of the academia and CSOs are interested in it. However, we point out a number of limitations and problems such cooperation faces.
Some of them arise from the different cultures of the two spheres, but many of them are linked with the institutional setting of funding and evaluation schemes in science. We introduce several instruments which could be used to overcome these barriers.
We also concluded that despite all the positive outcomes it is important to remember that the coproduction of knowledge by science and CSOs is not always the possible or/and best mode of the knowledge production. The reasons could be both epistemological and ontological.
I will discuss the features preferring non-cooperation to cooperation and introduce the mode of coexistence of science and society which we called the "productive non-cooperation" with regard to the work of Stark and Grabher (1997).