HIBAR, partnerships and the co-production of knowledge in the public interest

Overview of the HIBAR Research Alliance:

The HIBAR Research Alliance (HRA) is a volunteer-driven organization of individuals and institutions that recognize that today’s universities can and should engage more effectively with the research and innovation ecosystem as a whole, strengthening academic excellence while also addressing the needs of society. The HRA is tackling a key problem: Today, some practices within the university system unintentionally discourage faculty members from participating in the cross-sectoral co-led use-inspired basic research that is central to HIBAR projects, and this in turn impedes the ability of universities to respond to the needs of society. A gentle shift in the culture of the university system is needed for more faculty members to participate in these types of projects. Contributors to the HRA believe that this cultural shift can be achieved through a coordinated combination of bottom-up, top-down, and cross-sector efforts.

Michele Mossman is the Manager for the HIBAR Research Alliance. She is a Research Associate in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of British Columbia, and since 2002 has been the Laboratory Manager for the UBC Sustainability Solutions Applied Physics Laboratory. From 1998-2006, she was the main researcher and co-inventor of the CLEAR electronic paper technology, 1st as a PhD student and later as a Postdoc Fellow. She was a co-founder and consultant to a UBC spin-off company that was incorporated to further develop and commercialize the technology. She received a PhD in Physics from UBC in 2002, and an MBA from UBC’s Sauder School of Business in 2014.


How cross-sectoral HIBAR partnerships can help to ensure technology is created and used responsibly:

Highly Integrative Basic and Responsive (HIBAR) research projects are led by collaborative teams whose collective experience spans the gamut from basic research in universities to applied development outside the university system. Researchers in all fields, including social sciences, humanities, science, engineering, and medicine, are central to many HIBAR projects. HIBAR projects are “highly integrative” because they deeply integrate different motivations, theories, methods, and participants, and “basic and responsive” because they embrace the academic character and purpose of fundamental research while addressing societal challenges. The inherent synergy within HIBAR research accelerates knowledge creation and generates better solutions, making a distinct and valuable contribution to the research landscape.

Lorne Whitehead serves as the Director for the HIBAR Research Alliance. He is the University of British Columbia’s Special Advisor on Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Research and a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. He has held several administrative positions such as, Associate Dean, Dean pro tem, VP Academic & Provost and Leader of Education Innovation. He holds 143 US patents that find application in computer screens, televisions and lighting products and has launched 7 spin-off companies. He received a PhD in Physics from UBC and has considerable experience in technological, business and administrative innovation. From 1983-1993 he served as CEO of TIR Systems, a UBC spin-off company that grew to 200 employees before being acquired by a multinational corporation.


Transdisciplinarity, Coproduction, and the Public Interest: Allied Institutional Logics:

Transdisciplinarity can be understood as interdisciplinary research undertaken in a context of coproduction and application. In this sense, transdisciplinarity may be construed as trans-institutional and cross-sectoral—spurring collaboration across academia, industry, government, and civil society. Cross-sectoral work is more likely to be aligned with important societal goals. Transdisciplinary research moreover comports with Mode 2 knowledge production, team science, and an approach to research recently characterized as HIBAR—highly integrative basic and applied research—which seeks to leverage the impact of university-based research and development. To bolster knowledge production and technological innovation undertaken in the public interest, this is to propose that academic culture embrace transdisciplinarity and coproduction as conceptually interrelated, interdependent, and complementary institutional logics.

William Dabars is a research professor in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society, ASU. He is a Senior Global Futures Scholar in the Global Futures Laboratory and an affiliate scholar in the Consortium for Science, Policy, and Outcomes. He is also senior director of research for the New American University in the Office of the President. He is the coauthor, with Michael Crow, of The Fifth Wave: The Evolution of American Higher Education (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2020) and Designing the New American University (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2015).