Mission orientation, transfer competence, and the Wheel of Competencies: a framework for innovation-oriented collaboration and capacity building

Abstract

Addressing grand societal challenges requires a mission-oriented approach that integrates innovation with effective knowledge and technology transfer. Yet the competencies necessary to enable such transfer have remained underdefined and fragmented across research traditions. This study develops a systematic framework of transfer competence, grounded in a qualitative content analysis of literature from education, innovation studies, and sustainability research. Following a typology-building procedure, 14 competency elements were identified, ranging from agility, agency in systems, and handling complexity to critical thinking, teamwork, creativity, and motivation to learn. These elements were synthesised into the Wheel of Competencies, a conceptual and practical tool that highlights the interdependence of dispositions required for mission- and innovation-oriented transfer. The framework advances theoretical clarity, bridges adjacent discourses, and provides practical relevance by linking competencies to observable performance and potential learning objectives. Beyond higher education, the Wheel of Competencies has applications in further and continuing education, supporting capacity building for researchers, practitioners, and organisations engaged in collaborative innovation. In doing so, it offers both a conceptual foundation and a practical instrument for strengthening the human dimensions of transformative knowledge and technology transfer.