Integrating Cognitive Developmental Neuroscience in Society: Lessons Learned From a Multidisciplinary Research Project on Education and Social Safety of Youth

Abstract

Integrating fundamental science in society, with the goal to translate research findings to daily practice, comes with certain challenges. Successfully integrating research projects into society requires (1) good collaboration between scientists and societal stakeholders, (2) collaboration partners with common expectations and goals, and (3) investment in clear communication. Here we describe an integrative research project conducted by a large Dutch consortium that consisted of neuroscientists, psychologists, sociologists, ethicists, teachers, health care professionals and policy makers, focusing on applying cognitive developmental neuroscience for the benefit of youth in education and social safety. We argue that to effectively integrate cognitive developmental neuroscience in society, (1) it is necessary to invest in a well-functioning, diverse and multidisciplinary team involving societal stakeholders and youth themselves from the start of the project. This aids to build a so-called productive interactive network that increases the chances to realize societal impact in the long-term. Additionally, we propose that to integrate knowledge, (2) a different than standard research approach should be taken. When focusing on integration, the ultimate goal of research is not solely to understand the world better, but also to intervene with real-life situations, such as education or (forensic) youth care. To accomplish this goal, we propose an approach in which integration is not only started after the research has been conducted, but taken into account throughout the entire project. This approach helps to create common expectations and goals between different stakeholders. Finally, we argue that (3) dedicating sufficient resources to effective communication, both within the consortium and between scientists and society, greatly benefits the integration of cognitive developmental neuroscience in society.

A perspective on enhancing representative samples in developmental human neuroscience: Connecting science to society

“…Making neuroscientific findings accessible and understandable is not only essential in reaching out to marginalized groups, but also for society in general. Scientific discoveries belong to all of us and hence researchers should not only be open and transparent about their knowledge and findings toward each other, but also to the broader public (Vandenbroucke et al, 2021). Informing and educating young people about brain development and behavioral processes contributes to their understanding of developmental human neuroscience, and thus themselves.…”

“…A crucial requirement for citizen science to work and to be beneficial for both society and science, is the establishment of equal researcher-community partnerships (Hoffman et al, 2018;Weng et al, 2020;Vandenbroucke et al, 2021). Engaging in researcher-community partnerships also entails giving youth partial responsibility and ownership.…”

“…For successful integration of citizen science initiatives, it is key that perspectives from adolescents, are included from the start of the research project (Vandenbroucke et al, 2021). Early inclusion of adolescents from marginalized groups in neuroscientific research (i.e., when writing the research proposal or setting up the research design) may aid in recognizing implicit biases that affect societal and scientific progress.…”

Understanding the Dynamics of the Developing Adolescent Brain Through Team Science

“…In our current projects, adolescent volunteers are also involved in disseminating knowledge to their peers, thereby increasing the likelihood that the information is relevant and interesting for the target audience (e.g., http://www.instagram.com/breinboost ). Finally, in several innovative projects we involve societal stakeholders (e.g., teachers, adolescents, policymakers) in the research consortium from the start of the project and create research and knowledge dissemination projects together throughout the project (see e.g., http://www.neurolab.nl/startimpuls , Vandenbroucke et al, 2021 ).…”