National large-scale interdisciplinary research programmes funded to boost scientific, economic and societal advancement often have difficulty realizing their goals. Reasons include: the monodisciplinary nature of academic research; insufficient interaction with societal actors; and funding...

This paper reflects on the relevance of academic science. Relevance plays a central role in what we define as the ‘contract’ between (academic) science and society. The manifestations of relevance in the daily practice of academic research can be studied using the credibility cycle....