Society-driven research aims to address society's real needs and is rooted in the shift from Mode 1 to Mode 2 knowledge production. Despite the emphasis of Iranian upstream policy documents on problem-oriented research, a deep gap persists between universities' research priorities and societal needs — a gap that prior studies have largely examined as a list of disconnected barriers at a single analytical level. This study aimed to explain these barriers from the perspective of academic research-system experts within a multi-level framework. A qualitative design with reflexive thematic analysis was adopted. Data were drawn from twenty analytical cases, comprising semi-structured interviews with policymakers and senior research managers, and were coded. The analysis yielded five main themes and twenty-eight sub-themes organized across three levels: at the institutional/governance level, the absence of coordinated governance and a trans-sectoral body, the inefficiency of the evaluation and promotion system, and supply-driven priority setting; at the organizational level, the misalignment of university structures and processes; and at the individual level, orientation toward low-risk outputs. The central finding is that these barriers form a causal chain from the institutional to the individual level and persist through two factors of the promotion procedures and evaluation system, and mutual distrust between universities and policymakers. One of the main findings was the willingness of faculty members to engage with society and what is missing is the opportunity and reward structure to facilitate the society-driven research. Accordingly, policy recommendations are proposed across all three levels simultaneously, including the redesign of promotion regulations, the creation of a trans-sectoral body, and the activation of organizational brokerage.