Sulla condivisione della conoscenza. Scienze sociali e Terza Missione dell’Università per l’innovazione sociale

In the face of contemporary complexity, scientific knowledge offers a valuable tool for interpreting a society in constant transformation. The university’s role gains significance when its knowledge production proves useful not only in academic terms, but also in social, political, and economic dimensions. Within this framework emerges the concept of the university’s Third Mission (TM). But what does TM entail? And how can it foster meaningful connections between scientific knowledge and society? This paper offers a sociological reflection on the potential to reorient the direction and conceptualisation of the Third Mission toward concrete processes of shared knowledge, beyond or alongside economic valorisation, with greater emphasis on its social, political, and human dimensions. By exploring how sociology as a discipline can contribute to this shift, the paper considers the potential of public sociology (Burawoy, 2005; 2007) as a tool to support a rethinking of TM and the broader role the university can play in relation to society.