Opening Science to Society

Welcome to an interactive event where European and national policymakers and stakeholders meet, discuss, learn and develop connections between science and society at large.

Programme

18:00-18:20 Registration

18:20–18:30 Welcome
Adalheidur Jónsdóttir, SiS.net coordinator, and Maria Lindholm, coordinator of Swedish SwafS national advocacy platform, and chair of the EC Advisory group on SwafS

18:30–20:00 Multi-stakeholder interchange and dialogue
Moderator: Birgit Baumann, BusinessMind

Invited panelists:

• Christian Ehler, Member of the ITRE Committee, European Parliament (tbc)
• Michał Boni, Member of the ITRE Committee, European Parliament
• Philippe Galiay, European Commission, DG Research and Innovation, Unit B.7
• Ignasi López, Fundación La Caixa, SIS.net Expert Group Chairman, RRI Tools Project coordinator
• Cissi Askwall, Secretary General of VA (Public & Science), Sweden, and member of SiS.net expert group on SwafS

20:00 – 20:15 Project pitch session
FP7 and H2020 project presentation showcases: RRI TOOLS, FoTRRIS, GENPORT, ENGAGE2020, CASI, PE2020, CIMULACT, SPARK, GENDERNET, HEIRRI, NUCLEUS

20:15 – 20:50 Showroom
Guests walk around to meet the projects, accompanied by a walking dinner.

20:50 – 21:00 What do you take home?
Conclusions by Adalheidur Jónsdóttir, Maria Lindholm, Birgit Baumann

Registration, please contact [email protected]

Background

The Report of the High Level Expert Group on the Ex Post Evaluation of the FP7 was published in November 2015. One of the six recommendations for future Framework Programmes was to continue working to bring science closer to the European people. The Commission in its response recognises explicitly that ‘the active participation of citizens is important’.

The Science with and for Society (SwafS) programme, together with its predecessors Science and Society (SaS) and Science in Society (SiS), have been working with this goal of bringing science closer to European citizens since 2002. As recognised in the report of the High Level Expert Group, FP7 has already addressed these challenges, but not in a substantial way.

The SwafS programme has a common narrative and is aligned to put forward Responsible Research and Innovation, RRI, as a holistic approach to make a real difference in how research is performed, by facilitating more openness, networking and collaboration, thereby increasing citizens’ involvement and trust. The six dimensions of research in Horizon 2020 and beyond that are to be considered are: public engagement, gender equality, science education, open access, ethics, governance.

Moreover, SwafS is called to play a central role in the definition and future progress of Open Science. Open Science finds its natural space in the SwafS programme as being a concept close to open access and open data, citizen science, public engagement, etc. which are included within the concept of Responsible Research and Innovation

Purpose of the event:

• To allow policy-makers and other stakeholders (at European and national level) to interact with the vast amount of new work developed by the SwafS programme in the last years.
• To raise awareness and highlight the importance of supporting RRI as the means to bring science closer to the European people and to stimulate the public and different stakeholders to become producers and co-creators of ideas and services, thus better aligning research and innovation to the values, needs and expectations of society.
• To make a collective reflection and stimulate thinking on the challenges ahead for SwafS programme to be able to tackle the Open Science needs and developments, especially beyond Horizon 2020.
• To offer networking opportunities among SwafS stakeholders and policy-makers, with the aim of allowing a better connection between the policy and research world.

Organisers

SiS.net is the international network of National Contact Points (NCPs) for Science with and for Society in Horizon 2020. The network unites more than 70 representatives from countries participating in Horizon 2020, in Europe and beyond. SiS.net provides high quality services to Science with and for Society stakeholders, authorities, research institutions and enterprises on the opportunities offered by Horizon 2020 to boost integration of scientific achievements into society and engage the public in science.

The Swedish Advocacy Platform for SwafS brings together some fifty organisations, government agencies, research centres and individual researchers with the aim of increasing Swedish awareness of SwafS and RRI, and works to increase the embedding of RRI concerns throughout Horizon 2020.