Abstract:

The article sketches the problems of knowledge transfer in the area of application-oriented research programs as a consequence of a universal differentiation of knowledge areas and language games. From a constructivist perspective, approaches are derived that aim at joint handling of communicative disturbances by transfer partners. This is the suspected key to overcoming language game borders and to generate and transfer knowledge. On the example of the R&D program “Working – Learning – Developing Skills. Potential for Innovation in a Modern Working Environment” by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) the article shows measures to exploit the potential inherent in communicative disturbances to compensate transfer problems.

Knowledge is the most important resource and product of modern economies. Researchers and practitioners are urged to identify and close knowledge gaps and to continuously accumulate new knowledge capital [1]. This proliferation of knowledge, though, demands a differentiation of terminologies and language games [2]. Generation and transfer of new knowledge need professional languages that facilitate adequate description of new expert knowledge. This leads to isolated knowledge and language areas that do help to effectively deal with specific issues but become increasingly unintelligible for outside experts [3]. Modern science thus inevitably creates knowledge and language borders that impede transfer between individual fields of expertise [4].

Especially in application-oriented R&D, quality and usefulness of results are highly dependent on systematically overcoming such borders [5]. The complex BMBF program “Working – Learning – Developing Skills. Potential for Innovation in a Modern Working Environment” with its four funding priorities and over 100 joint research projects has to meet great challenges concerning the efficient use of knowledge resources. The question is how to create successful transfer internally, but also between the program and economy and society [6].

Constructivist description theory offers an approach to compensate such transfer problems. The key is the joint creation of connecting language games during direct interaction [7]. Especially the presumed obstacles of communicative disturbance present opportunities to generate knowledge, enable cross-discipline transfer and foster implementation into practice.

Keywords:

Knowledge Transfer, Application-Oriented Research, Language Games.