The European Commission’s Mutual Learning Exercise on Public Engagement in Research & Innovation (MLE PE) has during 2024-2025 explored how the public can be more involved in research and innovation, to develop European guidelines and policy recommendations. The final report was presented at an open seminar in Brussels on 1 April – Public Engagement from Policy to Practice. Public & Science Sweden participated as a national expert in the initiative.
A Mutual Learning Exercise is an EU initiative within the Horizon Europe framework programme, aimed at developing national and European policies through knowledge exchange and mutual learning. The overarching goal is to develop European guidelines and policy recommendations, as well as provide support, skills and tools to national policymakers to effectively level up public engagement in R&I policy. The initiative also aims to provide recommendations on public engagement for the future European framework programme for research and innovation (FP10).
During 2024, the MLE PE has examined framework conditions, challenges and best practices on how to involve the public in the research and innovation process and what is needed to develop this form of collaboration at a European level.
Eight countries have participated in the MLE PE: Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia, and Sweden. The work has resulted in four thematic reports, and a final report summarising the findings and providing policy recommendations along with the thematic reports can be found on the European Commission’s website:
- Overview of Public Engagement in Research & Innovation
- Successes and challenges of Public Engagement
- Public Engagement in R&I and framework conditions
- Public Engagement within the European Research Area (ERA)
- Final report
”Participating in the MLE PE has been important for us at Public & Science, and provided us with knowledge about existing frameworks and guidelines for public engagement in other countries. It has also given us the opportunity to share our expertise and showcase good examples from Sweden,” says Maria Hagardt, Public & Science national expert in the MLE PE.
Recommendations and conclusions
The final report on the MLE PE was presented at an event on Public Engagement from Policy to Practice held in Brussels on 1 April 2025. Around 70 people participated in person, with 100 online. In addition to recommendations from the MLE PE working group, national best practices of public engagement activities were also presented, including Public & Science’s Borrow a Researcher initiative.
The recommendations developed by the working group focus on how to create frameworks and strategies for public engagement, how this can be implemented in the development of national R&I policy, how to support and build capacity for public engagement, and how to scale up and create synergies between different actors and networks.
The recommendations are divided into five overarching areas:
- Establish frameworks for public engagement
- Develop competence and capacity
- Integrate and evaluate
- Strengthen collaboration within the EU and nationally
- Broaden and support the ecosystem
Further information and materials from the final event
- Download abstracts of PE best practices presented. (pdf)
- Download all presentations. (pdf)
- Download the input participants shared during the event in MentiMeter. (pdf)
- Read all MLE reports here.
The MLE PE has been chaired by Cissi Askwall, coordinator at the Swedish Research Council. Other Swedish national experts were Maria Hagardt, International Coordinator at Public & Science and Anna Maria Fleetwood, Senior adviser, the Swedish Research Council.
