The academic unit Gender and Diversity in Organizations deals with this subject area since 2002. The subject area is marked by its intense interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary references in the field of knowledge creation, transfer and exchange. Therefore the department has established intensive contacts with practitioners (amongst others within the series of lectures Gender and Diversity Management in theory and practice).

Previous research demonstrates that practitioners from different fields are searching for valuable knowledge which they can adopt. That's why they keep contact with scientists, organizational consultants and actors in this area. In this context researchers and lecturers at universities have two different positions. On the one hand scientific communities produce knowledge concerning future challenges which emerge from diversity issues. As a result scientists design social changes with their expertise and provide intermediate inputs for future projects. On the other hand scientists are required to deal with themes of the current practice as well as exchange their opinions with practitioners from organizations and design interfaces which are relevant to transfer scientific knowledge to practice. This is necessary as the lack of knowledge and competence often leads to counterproductive effects in the practice. In the field of Gender and Diversity Management this could cause a re-stereotyping of occupational groups as well as a loss of acceptance and credibility of the workforce because of the gap between strategic concepts and their implementation.

However, researchers in the field of Gender and Diversity Management receive important information from practitioners for the further development in research due to their increasing implementation experiences.

This project aims to improve the knowledge exchange between practitioners and scientists. For this reason research concerning the ways practitioners and scientists exchange their knowledge has to be done. In this respect it is important to take a closer look at the boundaries between science and organizational practice. Therefore the project focuses on spatial and thematic interfaces for the knowledge transfer and the configuration of competence between scientists and practitioners.

Assistant-Project of the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration

Duration: February 2007 - February 2011

Executive: Mag.^a Roswitha Hofmann