SciShops

SciShops was a EU-funded Horizon 2020 project aimed a promoting the growth of community-based participatory research and Science Shops across Europe. The project ran from September 2017 to February 2020. VA (Public & Science) was one of 18 partners from 13 European countries.

Science Shops carry out independent scientific research in response to concerns experienced by citizens and local civil society in order to create new knowledge that can be used to better understand or tackle societal issues.  The SciShops project explored how different types of research organisations, such as universities, research institutes, non-profit organisations and even companies, can develop sustainable Science Shops.

Ten new Science Shops were established during the project alongside resources, tools and training to support new Science Shops. Read profiles of the new Science Shops.

Resources for Science Shops

On www.scishops.eu, a networking and knowledge sharing platform, you can find a range of resources to support the establishment and development of Science Shops that have developed during the project, such as:

VA has been involved in many aspects of the project, including developing a set of case studies of existing Science Shops, assembling a collection of RRI Tools for Science Shops, and conducting a global survey on awareness and experience of community-based participatory research. VA was also responsible for communications activities e.g. producing the project’s newsletter,  writing articles and creating dissemination materials and factsheets. We also ran workshops and helped to organise Summer Schools and the final SciShops Symposium.

In order to promote and support Swedish organisations interested in Science Shops, we have also run a number of workshops on Science Shops in Sweden. VA also ran a pop-up Science Shop on 1 July 2019 during Almedalen Week in Visby, Sweden.

Take a look at our project information folder and the final project factsheet. You can also read more about VA’s participation in the project in an interview with Project Manager Helen Garrison.

VA will continue to provide information and advice to organisations in Sweden interested in Science Shops so please get in touch if you would like to know more!

Project Partners

For further information, please contact Helen Garrison, Project Manager at VA.

Twitter: @SciShops_EU
Facebook: @scishops.eu
SciShops project: website

You can read more about the project in the articles below:

| Av Vetenskap & Allmänhet

VA study visit: public engagement in the UK

In February 2020, colleagues from Vetenskap & Allmänhet, VA (Public & Science) visited four organisations in the UK to learn more about their work and how they are supporting public engagement practices.

Läs vidare

| Av Vetenskap & Allmänhet

SciShops Symposium – reflecting upon the past, present and future

The Horizon 2020 SciShops project ran its final event, the SciShops Symposium, on 30-31 January. Almost 100 participants from all over Europe and beyond gathered at the University of Brescia in Italy for two days of discussions, reflections and networking around Science Shops and CBPR (community-based participatory research). As well as sharing the experiences and knowledge gained during the SciShops project, it was also an opportunity to explore future collaborations, which was embraced by all that attended. VA ran a workshop at the Symposium and moderated all of the plenary sessions.

Läs vidare

| Av Vetenskap & Allmänhet

Inspiring Science Shop collaborations in Sweden

Science Shops were showcased as an innovative model for science-society collaboration at two events run by SciShops’ partner Vetenskap & Allmänhet, VA (Public & Science), on 8 & 9 October in Sweden.

Läs vidare

| Av Vetenskap & Allmänhet

Go to Italy with SciShops pitch challenge!

Organisations conducting community-based participatory research are invited to participate in the SciShops Pitch Challenge. To participate, you need to present the research you are doing together with your local community in a three-minute video. We are looking for originality, creativity, enthusiasm and societal impact!

Läs vidare

| Av Vetenskap & Allmänhet

SciShops Summer School: learning and knowledge sharing

Between 1 and 4 July, the city of Limassol in Cyprus welcomed 45 participants from 15 different countries to the 2019 SciShops Summer School. With diverse backgrounds, ranging from researchers at universities to project managers in private companies, and varying levels of expertise in Science Shops, the participants gathered in this seaside city to learn together about many different aspects relating to the establishment, running and sustainability of Science Shops.

Läs vidare

| Av Vetenskap & Allmänhet

VA runs its first Pop-Up Science Shop at Almedalen

VA (Public & Science) ran its first pop-up Science Shop on 1 July during Almedalen Week in Visby, Sweden. Throughout the day, researchers from Swedish research organisations encouraged visitors to stop by the Pop-Up Science Shop to discover how research can be used to inform solutions to societal issues and to identify questions that they’d like to be answered by research.

Läs vidare

| Av Vetenskap & Allmänhet

Science Shops – pairing researchers and citizens to solve societal needs

Science Shops can be an effective model for developing mutually beneficial relationships between academia and society. By working together to find solutions to societal issues, students/researchers get to work on real-life problems and civil society organisations get access to research expertise and new knowledge.

Läs vidare

| Av Vetenskap & Allmänhet

New resources for Science Shops

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.

Läs vidare

| Av Vetenskap & Allmänhet

Awareness of science shops varies across Europe and between stakeholders

Awareness of science shops and community-based participatory research is much higher in Western Europe, than in other parts of Europe. Researchers are more likely to be familiar with these concepts than community organisations, the main beneficiaries, too. These are some of the results of a survey conducted by SciShops, a new Horizon 2020 project promoting the growth of science shops and community-based research in Europe. VA is a partner in SciShops and was responsible for conducting the survey.

Läs vidare