Environmental research is increasingly expected and needed to produce societal impact, i.e. “an effect on, change or benefit to the economy, society, culture, public policy or services, health, the environment or quality of life, beyond academia” (Reed, 2018). However, a persistent gap remains between research outputs and societal needs, controlled by strongly disciplinary education and the research-driven supply of new knowledge and services. Thus, the realization of the research impact potential (whether, how, and for what purposes) by relevant stakeholders remains uncertain.

We propose bridging this science-societal impact gap through two broad pathways. First, we need inter- and trans-disciplinary training and capacity-building in geosciences, but also among professionals; this pivotal need is further emphasized in current research funding instruments. Addressing complex environmental challenges requires diverse competencies and transferable skills. Higher education and life-long/wide learning are critical approaches in closing the gap, often referred to as universities' “third mission” (Secundo et al., 2017).

Second, we need development and better adoption of stakeholder- and demand-driven research practices throughout the research process, from co-design and co-production of research projects towards output communication and implementation tailoring. This includes closer collaboration both with the public sector and with the private sector stakeholders.

The demand-driven approach includes mapping of stakeholder needs and ongoing management processes, and co-creation of research outputs with stakeholders.

This session welcomes empirical and conceptual contributions along the broad two societal impact strands:

1. Societally impactful education and capacity-building in geosciences

2. Societally impactful research practices

We invite contributions covering all aspects of bridging the science-societal impact gap in geosciences, across the transition from case studies to theoretical and conceptual works. The session will facilitate exchange, learning, and networking around interdisciplinarity, collaboration, and impact pathways. The targeted output of our session will be one or a set of articles synthesizing the identified academic approaches and pathways to bridge the research-societal impact gap.