Engaged Scholarship: Bridging Relevance and Rigor in Research

By Dr. Varsolo Sunio

I first encountered the term “engaged scholarship” toward the end of 2023, when Dr. Henrik Sternberg of Iowa State University visited UA&P as a speaker at the inaugural Physical Internet Conference. Dr. Sternberg, a world-renowned researcher in logistics and supply chain management, shared his guiding philosophy in research, which he described as “engaged scholarship.” While the concept is not his original coinage, he defined it as a commitment to engagement with stakeholders in problem identification and co-production of knowledge, combined with scholarship rooted in systematic and rigorous inquiry that advances academic knowledge and produces publications.

In this framing, the “engaged” dimension ensures practical relevance, while the “scholarship” dimension safeguards academic rigor. Together, they provide an alternative to the old dichotomy between “ivory tower” research—rigorous but often irrelevant—and purely applied consulting—relevant but lacking scholarly rigor. Dr. Sternberg would later publish an influential editorial, Conducting engaged logistics and supply chain research: From real-world problems to journal publication (2024), further solidifying the value of this approach.

Reflecting on my own journey, I began as an “ivory tower” researcher. Early in my career, I identified problems mainly by reviewing the literature, pinpointing gaps, and proposing novel solutions. While this approach does not exclude real-world relevance, its primary focus is on addressing a scientific gap, with application only a secondary concern.

My perspective shifted when I joined the Department of Transportation. Here, the entry point for inquiry was not a theoretical gap but urgent real-world challenges. For instance, when I entered, the PUV Modernization Program was underway but failing to achieve its ambitious goals. This experience led me to ask: Why was the reform stalling? My practical engagement pushed me into the understudied domain of transport financing, eventually resulting in at least five publications. Later, as an S&T Fellow at the Department of Science and Technology, I also followed a stakeholder engagement model—where research agendas were derived from stakeholder needs to ensure adoption and utilization of research outputs.

Engaged scholarship unfolds through a five-step, iterative cycle: (1) beginning with real-world problems identified in collaboration with stakeholders, (2) framing these as research questions, (3) building on and refining theory while selecting appropriate methods, (4) engaging in collaborative inquiry to co-produce knowledge, and (5) integrating and disseminating findings as both actionable outputs for practice and peer-reviewed publications for academia. In essence, engaged scholarship charts a path from real-world problems to journal publications.

I have also experienced this approach in practice. In 2020, our team engaged with CleanTech Global Renewables Inc. and several banks. At first, the research question was unclear, but through dialogue, it became apparent that a pressing pain point was the difficulty of merchant renewable energy developers in accessing credit. With one of our co-authors coming from industry, we combined practical insight with academic positioning to show how underexplored this issue was in the literature. The result was first presented in an international workshop and later published as an article in Global Transitions.

For UA&P, this philosophy provides a distinct strategic advantage. Our strong industry linkages, combined with a solid foundation in the liberal arts, enable us to frame problems not only in technical terms but also from philosophical and holistic perspectives. To bring this to life, we can institutionalize scoping activities with industry stakeholders—systematically identifying their goals, challenges, and potential solutions. Such engagements can surface research problems that are both practically relevant and theoretically significant. Faculty who combine industry experience with deep knowledge of state-of-the-art literature are especially well-positioned to bridge these worlds and transform industry challenges into publishable scholarly contributions.

Of course, not every industry problem lends itself to scholarly publication. Researchers must be deeply aware of the state of the art to judge whether a problem can be meaningfully positioned within the academic literature. This remains one of the greatest challenges of engaged scholarship. Another common obstacle is confidentiality, as many companies are hesitant to release data that can be published. This explains why consultancy outputs rarely appear in journals.

Nonetheless, the promise of engaged scholarship is powerful. Higher education research is often criticized for being disconnected to industry needs, while industry research is dismissed as lacking academic rigor. Engaged scholarship offers a way to reconcile these critiques—producing research that is both relevant and rigorous, practically useful yet meeting academic standards. It is this dual commitment that makes engaged scholarship not only a philosophy but a vital pathway for research in the 21st century.

Further readings:

 Mathiassen, L. (2017). Designing engaged scholarship: From real-world problems to research publications. Engaged Management Review, 1(1), 2.

 Sternberg, H., Mathiassen, L., Carnovale, S., Richey, R. G., & Davis‐Sramek, B. (2024). Conducting engaged logistics and supply chain research: From real‐world problems to journal publication. Journal of Business Logistics, 45(2).