Scientific knowledge is widely seen as a crucial contribution to human progress, economic growth, and social welfare. More recently, the expectation to produce usable scientific knowledge has become explicitly institutionalized in research funding and legal frameworks of universities and other research institutions. The call for the production of useful scientific knowledge by funding programs is predicated on referring to grand or global challenges that require addressing (Isakova et al., 2024; Kaldewey, 2018). Furthermore, research that promises to have an “impact” on social problems is favored (Derrick, 2019; Gengnagel et al., 2022; Kim & Yoo, 2019). Concurrently, this optimism in science policy is confronted by scientific evidence indicating a considerable gap between research and practice and suggesting fundamental differences in institutional logics between science and other social spheres (Lattu & Cai, 2023). In fact, extending beyond a merely instrumentalist perspective, the research-practice relationship has been conceptualized in various ways (Boswell & Smith, 2017; Wittrock, 1991), and the debate remains open as to which of these conceptualizations is the most compelling.

This special issue of Current Sociology Monograph seeks to explore the historical constitution of societal expectations about research-practice knowledge relations, as well as the challenges and opportunities that may arise from attempts to narrow the gap between the two. In accordance with Current Sociology’s commitment to contemporary relevance, the issue also examines how historical developments shape present-day modes of engagement and what future configurations of research-practice relations may emerge. It aims to bring together diverse perspectives that advance our understanding of how academic research operates in conditions of goal ambiguity and normative conflict.

The planned special issue will focus on crucial dimensions of research-practice knowledge relations, such as:
• Concepts of “knowledge transfer” (knowledge use, knowledge exchange, knowledge translation, knowledge diffusion, knowledge mobilization, innovation, organizational learning, expertise, transdisciplinary research, transformative research) and their practical implications.
• Structures and processes in endeavors of academic knowledge transfer
• Knowledge demands on research from multiple stakeholders
• approaches to navigate different institutional logics between science and other social spheres
Both conceptual and empirical papers are welcome.

Timeline
• Deadline for the submission of abstracts and expressions of interest: 15 December 2025
• Invitation to submit full papers: January 2025
• Deadline for the submission of full manuscripts: 15 April 2026
• Peer review: 30 June 2026
• Revisions: 30 September 2026
• Selection and approval: 30 November 2026

Abstracts should not be longer than one page and submitted to the guest editors:
walter.bartl@hof.uni-halle.de; r.aust@macromedia.de; janssen@dzhw.eu

Call for Papers for Current Sociology Monograph (Special Issue): Research to Practice?