Public scientists contributing to local literary fiction. An exploratory analysis

Public scientists (scientists only from now onwards), understood as a member of the teaching and/or research staff of a public university or a public research organization (including humanities and social sciences), benefit the academic community, industry and other social collectives through teaching and research. Most visible contributions are training skilled workforce, increasing the pool of knowledge and providing services to third parties. There are subtler contributions, like participation in unusual fora like diplomatic circles (Fähnrich, 2015) or informal exchange of ideas with social agents that convert scientists into part of the cultural core of cities (Florida, 2005). Active involvement of scientists in culture is part of the richness of developed societies. Some voices in current debates on the evaluation of societal impact and the role of universities towards social development are claiming a refocus from a socioeconomic perspective to also including sociocultural benefits from academia (Goddard, 2009).