By Jurgita Šikšnienė (MEDViEW project coordinator)
How can we turn research and knowledge into solutions that respond to real societal needs? This was one of the central questions explored at the European Commission’s “Knowledge Valorisation in Action: from Results to Policy” event, held in Brussels on 8 October 2026. Representing MEDViEW, Jurgita Šikšnienė (METIS) and Yiannis Geragotellis (KiNNO) joined policymakers, researchers, innovation practitioners, and knowledge valorisation experts to exchange experiences and explore how knowledge can create lasting value for society.
Impact, scalability and speed: turning knowledge into action
The opening remarks by Martin Spolc (Director Prosperity, DG Research and Innovation, European Commission) and Stephen Collins (Director of European Research Executive Agency) emphasised three essential dimensions of successful knowledge valorisation: impact, scalability and speed.
As all agrees, knowledge valorisation should deliver tangible benefits for society, with solutions designed to be scalable and replicable beyond their original context. At the same time, the pace of innovation matters with emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, opportunities to accelerate the application of research results and bringing knowledge into practice more efficiently.
Based on that, the discussions highlighted the growing importance of knowledge valorisation at the highest policy levels, as the European Union prepares its next programmes and budget priorities.
Start with people, their needs and real-world challenges
A key takeaway from the testimonials session was that successful innovation starts not with a technology, but with a clear understanding of the problem it is intended to solve.
David Thomas (InferIA S.L.) highlighted how knowledge valorisation can help organisations engage future customers and reach a wider range of stakeholders while Daniel Domene Lopez (Solublion S.L.)shared three important lessons from industry: price matters; applications must address everyday needs; and companies need to use their resources efficiently, avoiding investment in products that never reach the market.
Together, these insights reinforced a fundamental principle, that innovation happens when technological possibilities align with genuine human needs.
Other speakers explored different dimensions of this principle. Magi Lluuch-Ariet (UPSMART) discussed regulatory barriers affecting spin-offs and the need to accelerate application processes, while encouraging technology providers to collaborate in identifying problems and developing realistic solutions. Katerina Novakova (Masaryk memorial cancer Institute) highlighted that tools originally developed to address internal organisational needs can also create value for others, underlining the importance of recognising and building on existing capabilities.
Lydia Gimenez Llort (Autonomous University of Barcelona) encouraged KV participants to tackle complex challenges through solutions that serve multiple stakeholder groups facing the same problem. Combining different territories, communities and stakeholder groups around a shared challenge can help generate solutions with broader relevance. Sergi Gil Montejano (Children and Elders Services, Sabadell Municipality) added that research must engage with realities on the ground if it is to address the challenges people and communities actually experience.
So, these perspectives closely reflect MEDViEW’s approach to knowledge valorisation: understanding the needs of different stakeholders, creating opportunities for collaboration and ensuring that research outcomes can be translated into meaningful benefits.
Knowledge valorisation is a collaborative process
The event also highlighted the importance of knowledge that exists beyond scientific publications. Matias Barberis (FutureResilience project) noted that valuable knowledge can be embedded within society itself and can inform policy development. Drawing on the FutureResilience project, which developed 39 scenarios and two decision-making tools, he highlighted the importance of policy experimentation and the contribution of intermediary organisations to shaping future knowledge valorisation policies.
Lizbeth Goodman, representing VOICE project, emphasised that values underpin knowledge valorisation and that existing work should be documented and communicated rather than repeatedly recreated from scratch. Her message was very clear: make existing achievements visible and communicate results in easy, accessible language.
The discussions also reinforced the importance of keeping research results open and accessible, making it easier for different stakeholders to discover, understand and build on existing knowledge.
For MEDViEW, these lessons underline the value of connecting research communities with citizens, healthcare professionals, businesses and policymakers. Intermediary organisations can play a crucial role in bringing these groups together from the earliest stages of the innovation process, helping them identify shared challenges and develop partnerships around practical solutions.
Yiannis Geragotellis shares lessons for MEDViEW
During the “Bringing research results to the market” session, Yiannis Geragotellis (KiNNO), represented MEDViEW and highlighted the importance of starting with the challenge and the actual needs of those who will benefit from the results.
He stressed that intermediaries have a crucial role in engaging stakeholders from the very beginning and supporting the development of meaningful partnerships. He also cautioned that reaching Technology Readiness Level 9 (TRL 9) does not automatically mean that a technology is ready for successful deployment. Therefore, a clear exploitation plan is essential to ensure that results can be used and sustained beyond the end of a project.
The following insights offer important lessons for MEDViEW’s ongoing work:
- Reality checks from the outset: research and innovation activities should be grounded in real-world needs and the perspectives of the people expected to benefit.
- Market and societal uptake from step one: plans for applying and exploiting results should be developed early, rather than left until the final stages of a project.
- Structured support for knowledge valorisation: partnerships need appropriate support and formalisation to help turn research outcomes into solutions that can be adopted and sustained.
For MEDViEW, this means treating knowledge valorisation not as a final step in the research process, but as an ongoing effort to connect knowledge with the people and organisations that can actually use it.
Making policy recommendations count
The plenary discussions and Q&A explored how to strengthen the connection between knowledge valorisation, social sciences, innovation and policymaking.
So, participants discussed the need for dedicated teams with data and market expertise, as well as funding mechanisms that help technologies move from research towards market application. They also considered the role of Knowledge Transfer Organisations (KTOs) in supporting challenge-based approaches and connecting research with practical needs.
A recurring question was how to ensure that policy briefs and recommendations reach their intended audiences and lead to tangible change. Suggested approaches included interviewing end users to understand their needs, making it easier to connect with policymakers and encouraging organisations working on related topics to develop joint policy briefs.
The discussions also highlighted the skills required of knowledge valorisation intermediaries. Alongside technical expertise, social and facilitation skills were mentioned as essential for building trust, connecting different perspectives and enabling collaboration.
And finally, participants stressed that knowledge valorisation needs to be communicated in accessible language. National administrations and other stakeholders should be able to recognise how it relates to their work and understand the practical benefits. Following up with beneficiaries and policymakers to establish whether research results and policy recommendations are actually being used was identified as another important step.
A human-centred approach to lasting impact
One message resonated throughout the whole event: the value of knowledge depends on its meaning for people.
Citizens are more likely to engage when activities address needs they fully recognise and when they can see how their participation contributes to something meaningful in their lives. Sometimes, the most valuable innovations are not the most technologically complex, but those that make everyday life easier for us or respond to a clearly identified need.
This human-centred perspective is particularly relevant to MEDViEW, which focuses on valorising medical research through the intelligent engagement of citizens for well-being. Meaningful citizen involvement requires more than inviting people to participate; it requires understanding their perspectives, recognising their contributions and demonstrating how research can respond to their needs.
The event concluded with key messages from Iphigenia Pottaki (Policy Officer, DG for Research & innovation, European Commission), who encouraged the knowledge valorisation community to remain vibrant, continue learning from one another and sustain collaborative activities across projects and initiatives.
For MEDViEW, the discussions in Brussels provided valuable insights to carry forward: start with real needs, engage stakeholders early, make knowledge accessible, and plan for impact from the beginning. By connecting research, citizens, healthcare professionals, businesses and policymakers, knowledge valorisation can help ensure that scientific knowledge creates meaningful social and economic value.
Hyperlinks:
· KiNNO → https://kinno.eu/
· METIS / METIS Baltic → https://www.metisbaltic.com/
· DG Research and Innovation / Directorate-General for Research and Innovation → https://commission.europa.eu/about/departments-and-executive-agencies/research-and-innovation_en
· European Research Executive Agency → https://rea.ec.europa.eu/index_en
· InferIA S.L. → https://inferia.ai/
· Solublion S.L. → https://solublion.com/
· UP2SMART → https://www.up2smart.com/
· Masaryk Memorial Cancer Institute → https://www.mou.cz/en/
· Autonomous University of Barcelona / Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona → https://www.uab.cat/
· FUTURESILIENCE / FutuResilience project → https://www.futuresilience.eu/
· VOICE project → https://voice-community.eu/
