Diana Escobar- Barcelona City Council, Bea Cordero and Rebeca Ribas, Eduscopi
Riding the Waves of Creativity: Crafting Powerful Public Engagement Strategies
Effective public engagement is crucial for the success of a Citizen Science Project, yet it remains one of the biggest challenges. How can we encourage participation, and what strategies can help overcome the barriers citizens face?
This session will present the outcomes of a seminar organized by the Barcelona Citizen Science Office, where practitioners and stakeholders discussed strategies to boost active public participation. The seminar included insights from both European and Latin American contexts.
Creative methodologies were used to explore six key categories for designing participatory actions: objectives, target audiences, communication channels, locations, dynamics, and participant motivations. This approach aims to strengthen collaboration between science and society, helping projects achieve their goals more effectively.
Claire Riordan – CÚRAM Research Ireland Centre for Medical Devices, Sarah Gundy – CÚRAM Research Ireland Centre for Medical Devices and Sarah Lawless – University of Galway
Evaluating Patient Involvement in the Co-Design of a Science Education Workshop
Collaboration with individuals who have lived experiences is essential for making meaningful advancements in healthcare, including in science communication. Public Patient Involvement (PPI) ensures priorities are shaped by the needs identified by patients, rather than assumptions. PPI requires empathy—understanding the patient’s personal experience.
The ‘Empathy Detectives’ project, a collaboration between CÚRAM Research Ireland Centre for Medical Devices, Ideas Lab, and the PPI Ignite Network at University of Galway, aims to deepen this understanding. Funded by the Research Ireland Discover Programme, the project developed an interactive workshop with short empathy exercises, designed to help participants better grasp the lived experience of people with Diabetes, guided by input from a diverse PPI panel.
Karlijn Franck and Jozefien Borms – HOGENT University of Applied Sciences and Arts
Catch the wave: research meets the public
HOGENT has transformed its research policy to enhance public engagement and maximize societal impact. Guided by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we actively involve stakeholders in every stage of the research process, ensuring alignment with societal needs. Multidisciplinary research teams collaborate with stakeholders through co-creation to tackle complex societal challenges, integrating diverse perspectives and fostering innovative solutions. A structured approach to stakeholder engagement, combined with mandatory impact planning and enhanced communication strategies, ensures meaningful collaboration and lasting impact. This session explores HOGENT’s strategies for navigating stakeholder involvement, sharing lessons learned and ambitions for collaborative decision-making in turbulent times.