Challenges for co-generation in the search for social impact of the university: a case of the construction of a dialogic space through action research

Abstract

At the center of the debate about the social impact of the university we find a new division of work in the production of knowledge that can respond to the challenges of society. This new division of work is more complex and signals an epistemological turn in the form of organizing interaction between academic knowledge and society. This article poses four challenges that were identified based on a case of the construction of a dialogic space for the co-generation of knowledge. The case, which was developed through action research, questions the scheme in which knowledge generated in a university is packaged in the form of articles, books, reports, or conferences and communicated linearly, and suggests another that is based on dialogue and that allows other actors to contribute their knowledge as well.

Keywords

• university
• social impact
• action research