Funder strategies for promoting research addressing societal challenges: thematic, impact, and collaboration targeting.

This article examines how public research funders in Denmark, Norway, and the Netherlands design and deploy challenge-oriented competitive funding instruments to steer research towards addressing complex societal challenges. It introduces a conceptual model of three targeting dimensions— the thematic focus of research, the desired impact (scientific, economic, societal), and collaboration patterns—used by funders to influence research directions and outcomes. The study finds that while all three funders incorporate these targeting dimensions, they differ in their degree of influence over thematic priorities, definitions and assessments of societal impact, and the extent to which they actively shape collaborative partnerships. The findings highlight persistent tensions and trade-offs in balancing scientific excellence, economic relevance, and broader societal goals, as well as challenges in operationalizing vague notions of societal impact within existing funding frameworks.