Sakarya University engages in policy-oriented research in cooperation with government institutions at local, regional, and national levels, contributing to evidence-based governance and public-sector decision-making in alignment with SDG 16. During the 2025 calendar year, academic units and research centers at Sakarya University collaborated with public agencies, provincial directorates, ministries, and local municipalities on research projects addressing public administration, migration management, environmental planning, disaster risk reduction, digital transformation, economic development, and community resilience.
These collaborations are facilitated through formal research protocols, consultancy agreements, and joint project frameworks, including those supported under Sakarya Teknokent and the Technology Transfer Office structure. The University provides scientific analysis, policy evaluation, feasibility studies, data interpretation, and applied research reports to government agencies.
Advisory Boards and institutional cooperation mechanisms further support knowledge exchange, ensuring that research outcomes inform public strategies and development initiatives. Research collaborations are also reported in the 2025 Administrative Activity Report. Also, the following evidences demonstrates how Sakarya University meets the criteria of participation in government-linked policy research.
1. Structured Research Collaboration Mechanisms: Academic research collaborations occur through formal protocols, project agreements, advisory committees, and applied research frameworks with local, regional, and national public institutions.
2. University Board-Supported Expert Participation: Academic personnel are officially appointed to advisory and research roles involving evidence analysis, assessment, and strategic recommendations to government offices.
3. Technology Transfer and Applied Innovation: The Technology Transfer Office (Sakarya Teknokent) provides an established platform for co-producing knowledge and delivering applied research outcomes that support public policy implementation.
4. Documented 2025 Implementation: Annual Administrative Activity Reports confirm multiple research collaborations, public sector consultancy activities, and evidence-based policy contributions during the 2025 calendar year.
These mechanisms collectively demonstrate that Sakarya University engages in sustained, structured, and verifiable policy-oriented research with government bodies.
Here are some examples of Sakarya University’s participation in government-linked policy research in 2025:
1. Ministry-Funded R&D Project: “Transition from Children’s Homes: Preparing Young People for Life and Work”
Meeting of the “Transition from Children’s Homes” R&D project team (2025).
The Ministry of Family and Social Services, General Directorate of Child Services, funded this R&D project, coordinated by the Faculty of Business Administration (Principal Investigator: Prof. Dr. Sima Nart). The project supports the training areas set out in Article 30 of the Child Protection Services Regulation: financial literacy, budget planning and preparation for working life. The Sakarya Provincial Directorate of Family and Social Services is a member of the project team (12.11.2025).
2. SCURE: Strengthening Communities for Urban Resilience and Engagement (Erasmus+ KA220)
This €250,000 project is led by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Cem Kırlangıçoğlu of the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture. It develops a comprehensive risk management model to increase the disaster resilience of historic sites. Partners include İznik Municipality, the Valencian Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (Spain), the Technical University of Berlin, LARES Italy (a national association of civil protection experts) and Bursa Technical University. The project will create a disaster risk database and a GIS-based integrated disaster management model. It will also establish guidance units within local municipalities for high-risk historic buildings, and provide capacity building and stakeholder meetings for local communities (28.08.2025).
1. Technical Evidence for Municipal Infrastructure: Road Safety Project with SASKİ
Field application of the TÜBİTAK 2209-B road safety project: the project team and SASKİ crews after reinforcing the asphalt around a manhole cover with geosynthetic material (Sakarya, 2025).
A TÜBİTAK 2209-B project supervised by Asst. Prof. Dr. Emre Akmaz of the Department of Civil Engineering strengthens the asphalt around manhole covers with geosynthetic materials to improve road safety and extend pavement life. Field applications were carried out in cooperation with the Sakarya Metropolitan Municipality Water and Sewerage Administration (SASKİ) and a private contractor. The data from the one-year monitoring period are expected to contribute to municipal infrastructure practice (18.08.2025).
1. Train–Equip–Employ Model (EDİM) with Hendek Municipality
This TÜBİTAK 3005 project, led by Res. Asst. Baran Yaşar of the Department of Special Education, develops an employment model for graduates of a special education vocational school. Implemented in cooperation with Hendek Municipality, graduates with employment potential will be employed and trained at designated municipal workplaces (20.08.2025).
2. Research Partnership with Diyanet and the Ministry of National Education on Youth
The TÜBİTAK 3005 project “The Effect of the Problem of Evil on Deism and Atheism Tendencies: A Study on University Youth in Türkiye”, led by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Elif Nur Erkan Balcı of the Faculty of Theology, was awarded funding. It plans institutional and academic cooperation with the Presidency of Religious Affairs and the Ministry of National Education, and its findings are intended to contribute academically to these institutions’ publications for young people (27.05.2025).
3. Policy Proposals for the Revision of Export Incentives
The TÜBİTAK 3005 project “Policy Proposals for Revising Export Incentives from the Perspective of Foreign Trade Entrepreneurship”, led by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ahmet Yağmur Ersoy of the Faculty of Business Administration, aims to revise current export incentives so that they also benefit disadvantaged groups, and to develop new incentive models that strengthen domestic innovation capacity.
These examples show that Sakarya University engages in sustained, structured and verifiable policy-oriented research with government bodies throughout 2025.
