Engage2020 – Tools and Instruments for a better societal engagement in "Horizon 2020"

  • Project team:

    Hennen, Leonhard (Project leader); Simon Pfersdorf; Linda Nierling

  • Funding: European Union, FP7
  • Start date: 2013
  • End date: 2015
  • Project partners: Danish Board of Technology (coordinator), Denmark; The Involve Foundation, United Kingdom; Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, The Netherlands; Applied Research and Communications Fund, Bulgaria; Dialogik, Germany
  • Research group:

    Socio-Technical Futures and Policies

Project description

The Engage2020 project will provide an overview of potential praxis in Horizon 2020 for societal engagement in research and innovation and related activities, with the aim of increasing the use of such praxis. The overview will cover praxis of existing policies and structures, of methods, approaches, tools and instruments, of promising new or adapted policies / methods, and of praxis which is specifically suited for engaging society in research and innovation activities related to the six Grand Challenges.

The project will set up a frame, which can embrace all potential approaches to engagement by treating all four levels of complexity in research and innovation activities:

  1. research policy formation,
  2. program development,
  3. research project definition, and
  4. engagement in the concrete research or innovation activity

For each of these levels praxis will be structured according to which types of participants the specific praxis can include (CSO's, citizens, affected persons or groups, consumers, employees, users and others).

Because of the time frame of Horizon 2020, the project will already deliver main results in autumn 2014, so that the results are ready for inclusion in the 2015 calls of Horizon 2020. After autumn 2014 the results will be specified and adapted for use on specific Grand Challenges and dissemination towards large user groups will begin, so that proposers to the 2014 calls may be able to use the outcomes directly in their proposals.

The project includes a strong dissemination and communication strategy in order to ensure proper uptake of the results by the broad range of user groups.

The Engage2020 consortium consists of experts and practitioners of participation in STI related issues at all levels of engagement.

ITAS will be responsible for the provision of a broad overview of the scientific discussion on public engagement in different societal fields and for the development of policy options for fostering the role of public engagement in research and innovation processes.

Project website: http://engage2020.eu

Publications


2015
Presentations
Nierling, L.
Involving the public in research and innovation - The Engage2020 project
2015. Vortr.: Technische Universität Lulea, S, 16.April 2015 
2014
Presentations
Nierling, L.; Kuhn, R.; Hennen, L.; Pfersdorf, S.-P.; Mbungu, G.
Involving the public in research and innovation - a European horizon scanning exercise
2014. Situating Solidarities : Social Challenges for Science and Technology Studies (EASST 2014), Torun, Poland, September 17–19, 2014 
Pfersdorf, S.
Diskursphasen als Strukturmuster beim gesellschaftlichen Umgang mit Technologien?
2014. 37. Kongress der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Soziologie, Trier, 6.-10.Oktober 2014 
Pfersdorf, S.
Engaging the public in research and innovation: Insights into the EU projects CINSIDER and ENGAGE 2020
2014. European Network for Scientists for Social and Environmental Responsibility (ENSSER) Annual Conference, Berlin, September 10-12, 2014 

Contact

Dr. Leonhard Hennen
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis (ITAS)
P.O. Box 3640
76021 Karlsruhe
Germany