A path towards strategic participatory research The InSPIRES project has developed a new conceptual framework that will make Science Shops more responsive to the concerns of the communities around them, and will help further open up the research process to different stakeholders, as well as integrating requirements from the Open Science concept and an impact evaluation strategy throughout the process. We spoke to the ISGlobal team, which is in charge of coordinating InSPIRES, about the project’s work. A Science Shop provides a link between scientists and civil society, with regular meetings helping researchers to identify issues of concern to the local community and also develop plans to address them. This also represents a route to widening participation in science and engaging the general public in research. “It’s a bottomup, demand-driven type of structure,” explains Anne-Sophie Gresle. As the Project Manager of InSPIRES, she and the consortium partners are working to develop innovative models for Science Shops, which will help open up the research process. “Our philosophy in the project is that the research agenda shouldn’t be determined solely by researchers. We should seek collaborations, and listen more to the concerns of communities,” says Dr. María Jesús Pinazo, the principal investigator of InSPIRES. Extreme citizen science This means involving citizens in identifying research priorities, with a particular emphasis on working with marginalised groups, such as the elderly, migrants and refugees. The project brings together partners from several different countries,
InSPIRES
Ingenious Science shops to promote Participatory Innovation, Research and Equity in Science Anne-Sophie Gresle Rosselló 132, 08036 Barcelona, Spain T: +34 93 227 2182 E: inspires@isglobal.org W: https://inspiresproject.com/ W: https://app.inspiresproject.com
Professor Pinazo (left) is doctor and graduate in Medicine and Surgery, specialized in Internal Medicine at the International Health Service of the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona. Mrs. Gresle (right) specialized in Patient in Public Involvement in Health Research and Project Management of international participatory health research project.
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and while not all have an established tradition of engaging the public in health research, Dr Pinazo believes widening participation brings significant benefits. “In order for these types of project to really function, you need the participation of all the different stakeholders, including people from civil society,” she stresses. On the research side: “How can you re-formulate a civil society concern into a research question? says Mrs Gresle. A Science Shop will help you do that. Besides, Masters or PhD students are often involved in Science Shops, helping to bridge the gap between academia and civil society. The students
have sprung up across Europe over recent years, with researchers in InSPIRES now developing new models designed to make them more responsive to societal needs. An Open Platform, working both as an open repository and impact evaluation tool, has been developed in the project to enable the different stakeholders in the project to share knowledge and insights. “It’s free for units to register. This includes not only academic units, but also civil society organisations,” says Mrs. Gresle. A self-reflection and impact evaluation methodology has also been developed in the project, which again is free and open. “The
Our philosophy in the InSPIRES project is that the research agenda shouldn’t be determined solely by researchers. We, as researchers, should seek collaborations, and listen more to the concerns of our communities. themselves also benefit from this process, which gives them the opportunity to acquire different types of skills and competencies. Involvement in a Science Shop project brings students into contact with a wider variety of people, which Mrs. Gresle believes exposes them to new ideas, real life problems, and different perspectives. “Researchers become more aware of challenges and issues in the community, and this can open up new lines of research,” she explains. The research institution itself also benefits from participating in Science Shops or citizen science, as outreach activities lead to stronger relationships with the organisations, businesses and people around them. “Institutions also become more open to their communities,” highlights Dr Pinazo. These benefits are now more widely recognised, and a number of new Science Shops
idea is to have a harmonised impact evaluation approach for all the projects, so that they can learn from each other,” explains Mrs. Gresle. The evaluation methodology captures indicators in five different dimensions and provides a snapshot of a project’s impact, from which other Science Shops can then learn and adapt their approach. The aim here is to provide resources that meet the needs of those involved in the Science Shop movement, and help them work more effectively. “We wanted to develop a model of Science Shop that was more aligned with the Responsible Research and Innovation approach, while also systematically introducing an impact evaluation,” says Dr Pinazo. “We hope that people will find the platform and the evaluation methodology easy to use, while we are also developing the help section and the guidelines materials.”
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