Centre for Studies in Science Policy
School of Social Sciences, JNU
Cordially invites you to
CSSP Lecture Series Talk on
Knowledge and (not) Doing: Bridging the Sustainable Knowledge-Action Gap in Climate Change Mitigation
by
Waltraut Ritter
(About the Speaker: Waltraut Ritter is an information scientist and sociologist (Free University of Berlin, Stockholm University and Anglia Ruskin University, U.K.). She is interested in transdisciplinary research on knowledge in society in the widest sense. Her research areas include urban and regional innovation systems, data governance in digital/smart cities and inclusive development. She actively contributes to these topics to working groups of international and multilateral organisations, such as the UN World Urban Forum and the Internet Governance Forum. She is a member of the German Association for Information and Knowledge, and board member in the New Club of Paris, an agenda developer for knowledge-based societies. She has been regularly visiting India for more than 20 years, and has extensive lecturing and research experience in India, among others at the University of Mysore and the N.L. Dalmia Institute for Management Studies and Research. https://www.linkedin.com/in/knowledgedialogues/)
Venue: Room No. 227, 2nd Floor, SSS-1, JNU
Time: 3:30 p.m.
Date: Friday, 18th September 2026
Mode: Physical
Abstract of Lecture: Does knowing result in doing? Is there a disconnect between what individuals/ organisations/ governments know they should do and what actually do? It is one of the big questions in social sciences, in particular information science and knowledge management. In the field of management, the “The Knowledge-Doing Gap” published in 2000 by Stanford professors Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert Sutton discussed how companies fail to turn knowledge into action despite organisational learning and knowledge management programmes in place. At a societal level, climate change mitigation measures are regularly postponed, weakened or not given enough attention. The German Society for Information and Knowledge (DGI) and the German Meteorological Society are collaborating on climate communication to combat disinformation about the climate crisis and mistrust in research and science. In a global economy in times of permacrisis, creating and sharing knowledge with impact across stakeholders in science and society is essential. For serious climate communication and the establishment of trust, fact-based and quality-tested information is essential. Disinformation, filter bubbles and conspiracy narratives on the climate crisis, researching for professionals, documenting background information and recording media resonance on climate communication is essential. How can the knowledge-doing gap in climate action be bridged? The lecture will draw on examples from different sectors of society, both from Germany and India.
All are welcome to attend the lecture.