The dialogue between science and its application is planned as a discussion forum (within the PLATON+ project) to enable an exchange of opinions between knowledge producers and users. The discussion is to be introduced by two keynote talks (‘Politics in the Knowledge Society’ and ‘Demands from Practice’), each held by a scientist and a user. So as to enable a fruitful exchange, the topic was restricted to the area of ‘sustainable development’ and the seminar limited to 15 participants.

The topic of ‘sustainable development‘ was selected due to its great topicality, whilst it is broad enough to be interesting to a series of policy-makers from the fields of energy, the environment and transport.

The Social Sciences have considerable experience in this field; but social science knowledge is still inadequately utilized. Politics and the administration frequently complain that the flood of information and the presentation of the results complicate knowledge use. Researchers, on the other hand, express problems with expectations on the part of stakeholders which are beyond the realm of the Social Sciences to meet.

The workshop is intended to act as a platform for the exchange of opinions and for helping to minimize possible barriers between science and politics.