Praxisrelevant

Praxisrelevant is a German term used to describe knowledge, results, or activities that have direct applicability in professional practice. The word combines Praxis (practice) with relevant, signalling that something is useful, usable, or transferable beyond theoretical interest. In academic and policy discourse, praxisrelevanz is often invoked to emphasize the practical impact of research and to justify funding or implementation decisions.

Used across fields such as management, engineering, health sciences, education, and social policy, praxisrelevant research aims to close the gap between theory and application. Methods to enhance praxisrelevance include involving practitioners in research design, conducting field studies or pilots, case studies, co-creation workshops, and dissemination strategies tailored to practitioners.

Assessing praxisrelevance involves criteria such as implementability, transferability, scalability, cost-benefit relevance, and measurable impact on practice. Outputs are often framed as guidelines, tools, protocols, training materials, or decision-support systems rather than purely theoretical propositions.

Critiques point to the risk that overemphasizing praxisrelevance can constrain fundamental inquiry, inflate perceived impact, or introduce biases through stakeholder expectations. The term is also subject to interpretation differences across disciplines and languages, and its assessment can be subjective.

Related concepts include applied research, practice-oriented research, knowledge transfer, user-centered design, and impact assessment. In English, terms like practice-relevant or practice-oriented are used as equivalents.