As part of the EU SciShops project consortium, VA (Public & Science) has been helping to produce a range of resources to support both new and established Science Shops. The resources address various aspects of setting up and running a Science Shop and take into account different types of organisational models.
Science Shops – entities that carry out independent, participatory research on behalf of citizens and civil society – come in many different shapes and sizes. How Science Shops are organised and operate is highly dependent on their context as well as the resources and expertise they have to hand. The EU SciShops project is currently exploring how different types of research organisations, including universities, research institutes and NGOs, as well as for profit companies can develop sustainable Science Shops, with the aim of establishing ten new Science Shops during 2019.
All of the resources can be found on the SciShops web platform or via the links below:
- What’s a Science Shop? – Frequently Asked Questions
- Case studies of real Science Shops – investigating different models of Science Shops and community-based participatory research as well as best practices, challenges and success factors.
- Science shops scenarios collection – everything you need to know about key aspects relating to the operation of a Science Shop: organisational model, funding, infrastructure, coordination staff, implementation staff, project types, and thematic scope.
- Practitioner roadmap and methodology toolkit – a guide to implementing community-based participatory research (CBPR) projects that provides insights, tools and methods for effective knowledge exchange between Science Shops and civil society and strengthening the participatory dimension of Science Shop projects.
- Science Shops establishment guide – a guide to establishing a Science Shop exploring the main aspects of setting up and running a Science Shop (including funding, staffing, CBPR projects, stakeholder engagement, communication and evaluation), considering different types of organisational models.
- Strategy for participatory research in communities and capacity building of existing science shops – providing a vision and guidance to support the development and capacity building of Science Shops and help Science Shops engage in ‘transformative’ CBPR.
- RRI (Responsible Research and Innovation) Tools collection – tools and methodologies of relevance to Science Shops to support participatory and responsible practices.
To find out more visit the SciShops project web platform at: www.scishops.eu, where you can also sign up for the quarterly SciShops newsletter, or contact Helen Garrison at VA (Public & Science).
