Overview

The success of a science shop is down to finding a topic that is of particular interest to a particular group of people. This is because they need to engage throughout the science shops research process, participate in the brokering and challenge identification and take responsibility for the outcome of the process. This project aims at expanding and further building on the capacity of the science shops ecosystem in Europe and beyond.

During the SciShops project timeframe, at least ten new academic and non-academic science shops will be established in Europe by project partners. The non-academic ones will be affiliated to different types of organizations, such as SMEs, NGOs/NPOs and research institutes. The project partners will have extensive networks of science shops which will be included in the SciShops Expert and Advisory Board and thus they can trial the solutions developed within the project: the SciShops Knowledge Exchange Roadmap, the SciShops Strategy for Community-Based Participatory Research and Science Shops Further Development, SciShops Guide for Establishment and Running of a Science Shop or the SciShops Web platform with its novel twining, matchmaking and awareness features.

Through the use of the platform, organizations willing to establish a science shop will be able to find a research organization which can support them with research services or they can be twinned with an experienced similar science shop which will help with the establishment and development of the new one.

The SciShops consortium aims to prove the benefits of starting a science shop for every type of organization, as well as highlight the advantages they can bring civil society. The participatory knowledge transfer and exchange events organized during the project timeline will raise awareness on this win-win concept.

This project is funded by the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme of the European Union under Grant Agreement number 741657.

Project website