Nordic Network for Research on International Knowledge Production Relations

KNOWREL will initiate a Nordic network for research on international knowledge production (KP) relations, which include research,
corporate research and development (R&D), and higher education. Bringing together established and early-career academics,
KNOWREL will nurture joint research and publication on a timely topic that is understudied and evolving.
International KP is undergoing fundamental changes, many of which are spurred by shifts in the composition of most-productive KP
countries, pressures on liberal academic norms, and security-related concerns and cautionary policies introduced in many countries.
The Nordic countries offer valuable windows for studying these changes, as they are knowledge-intense societies with vast international
KP relations. The Nordics represent excellent case variation, varying in their associations to the EU, NATO, and the US security
structure, and in their policies for dealing with China, Russia and other powers that are gaining influence in- and represent challenges
for liberal KP relations.
KNOWREL will facilitate new cooperation. Some participants know about one another from having previously planned a research
proposal, but this has so far not resulted in any grants or joint activities, and a researcher-based network for studying international KP
relations is yet to be established.
The plan includes three in-person workshops (WS) (Jan 2023, Sep 2023, and Mar 2024), in three Nordic countries (Norway, Denmark
and Sweden), each organized over two days. All WSs focus on research on KP relations and Nordic variation but address different suptopics and activities: WS1 - ethical and security risks, and planning a joint publication; WS2 - implications for innovation and corporate
R&D, and planning joint research applications; WS3 - implications for KP funding and regulation, and developing specific research
applications. Non-academic actors (including from security services, business sectors and funding institutions) will be included in some
discussions. Preparatory and follow-up meetings will be organized for each WS.
The three WSs directly promote the project idea. The researchers will establish a network based on mutual interest, active sharing and
collegial support, with ambitious but realistic research and publication plans, involving established and early career academics. The
WSs will inform debates within academic and public institutions in the Nordic countries.