Making innovation work

Discussions about innovation and future prosperity often centre on scientific and technological breakthroughs. Luc Sels draws attention to another part of the picture: strong science can encounter obstacles in complex regulation, unresponsive institutions, slow market access, difficulties in scaling up, weak collaboration or limited public support. His argument is that our capacity to innovate depends on all disciplines — and on the connections between them.

Through examples from healthcare and beyond, Luc Sels and Nico van Meeteren explore how researchers, businesses and societal organisations find each other, exchange knowledge and work towards useful changes in practice. What do partners learn from one another? How do different perspectives influence the problem they address and the approach they develop? And what makes collaboration difficult?

What can universities and research institutions organise? How can researchers reach out to other disciplines and partners, listen to their needs and explore where they can work together? The emphasis is on openness, mutual learning and relationships in which all partners bring knowledge and help shape the work.