Research group “Innovation in Participation, Research Transfer and Impact” (IMPART)

Technological developments shape health and care, public communication, work, and everyday life. How new technologies are designed and evaluated also depends on whose knowledge and experiences are taken into account. The research group Innovation in Participation, Research Transfer, and Impact examines how participation and knowledge transfer affect these processes. We ask: Who can take part in research and technology design? Which forms of knowledge inform decisions? Whose perspectives go unheard? And under what conditions do contributions from research, policymaking, professional practice, and society help shape research questions, technologies, or decisions? We also examine how power relations and forms of exclusion influence which knowledge is recognized.

We explore these questions in areas such as artificial intelligence and digital public communication, health and care, assistive robotics, and technologies in the workplace and everyday life. Through concrete case studies, we examine how knowledge, participation, responsibility, and societal impact are interconnected in these fields. The research group works closely with other groups at ITAS. We also engage in dialogue both within the institute and internationally on participation, knowledge transfer, collaboration between research and policy, and futures and transformation research. International perspectives are also gained through exchanges with researchers and colleagues from other countries.

Participation, transfer, and impact

• Participation and knowledge production
• Knowledge transfer and policy engagement
• Societal impact of technology assessment
• Power, inclusion, and responsibility

Research methods

• Qualitative and participatory social research
• Citizen science, co-design, and deliberative approaches
• Experimental, digital, and artistic formats
• Transfer and impact research

Research fields and cross-cutting perspectives

• Artificial intelligence and digital public spheres
• Health, care, and human-technology relations
• Assistive robotics and extended reality
• Technically advanced work and everyday life
• International perspectives on technology assessment
• Responsibility in research and innovation
• Policy engagement and interfaces between science, policy, and society
• Futures and transformation research