On 27 January 2026, the INSPIRING ERA project hosted an online event bringing together participants from more than 30 countries to explore how public engagement and citizen science can strengthen trust in science, foster inclusion, and support democratic participation in research and innovation across Europe.
Part of the INSPIRING ERA online series, the event focused on sharing learning and good practice emerging from across the European Research Area. Bringing together insights from European initiatives, Mutual Learning Exercises and concrete project experience, the emphasis was on extracting lessons that participants could reflect on and apply in their own work, across research, policy and engagement contexts.
Inspiring practices from across Europe
The first half of the programme featured four inspiring project showcases illustrating diverse approaches to engaging citizens in research across Europe.
Amai! (Belgium) was presented by Karen Verstraelen from the Flemish Knowledge Centre for Citizen Science (Scivil), who shared learnings from a programme that involves citizens in the development of artificial intelligence applications from start to finish. The initiative invites citizens to propose ideas on how AI could be used to address societal challenges, supports the co-creation of solutions, and enables consortia to develop selected ideas through an open call, with citizen science embedded throughout the process. To date, Amai! has collected over 1,000 citizen ideas and supported 17 funded projects. Citizens are engaged in different ways at each stage of the four-phase cycle, alongside other stakeholders, ensuring meaningful participation rather than one-off consultation. Karen highlighted the programme’s strong focus on inclusion, including the use of offline methods such as street theatre to engage hard-to-reach groups and tailored approaches for low-literate participants. Drawing on experience from four full programme cycles, key learnings included the value of parallel engagement tracks and the need to balance wide outreach with more intensive collaboration, alongside ongoing efforts to strengthen sustainability through partnerships and replication.
Wijkwijs (Netherlands) was presented by Beitske Boonstra from Erasmus University Rotterdam, who described a university-initiated but community-driven research collective supporting a city-wide network of neighbourhood-based research practices. Rather than initiating projects itself, Wijkwijs currently supports nine ongoing community-led research practices across Rotterdam, responding to experiences of research fatigue and unequal power dynamics between universities and communities. Beitske explained how the initiative deliberately shifts leadership to local communities, enabling residents and community organisations to define research topics, methods and recommendations. The approach is grounded in shared values of reciprocity, ownership and justice, and demonstrates how long-term, place-based collaboration can strengthen both research quality and relationships between universities and communities.
HEROINES (Serbia) was presented by Dr Ivan Djordjević, Senior Research Associate at the Institute of Ethnography SASA, who introduced a citizen science and citizen social science initiative centred on Roma women’s emancipation. The project gives voice to a marginalised community by positioning Roma women as knowledge-holders and co-producers, rather than research subjects. Ivan explained how community mapping serves as the cornerstone method, functioning as a participatory process through which women document their oral histories, experiences of solidarity and community heritage. Researchers supported the process through training and facilitation, building on long-standing relationships and existing community expertise to maximise participation and trust. Awarded the EU Prize for Citizen Science (Grand Prize) in 2025, the project demonstrates how citizen science can empower marginalised communities, challenge extractive research practices, and turn research into a platform for self-advocacy and social justice.
Creating Our Future (Ireland) was presented by Brendan Owens, Programme Manager for Education and Public Engagement at Research Ireland, who shared learnings from Ireland’s first national public conversation on research. Conducted in2021–2022, the government-led initiative invited people across the country to respond to a simple prompt – “Tell us your idea for what researchers in Ireland should explore to create a better future” – through a country-wide programme of workshops, roadshows, community outreach and digital engagement. The approach prioritised low barriers to participation, using an easy idea-submission process and informal engagement formats to encourage broad involvement, resulting in over 18,000 public submissions. Brendan also reflected on challenges, including curating ideas while retaining the integrity of public voices and navigating differing levels of understanding of what research can deliver. Overall, Creating Our Future demonstrated how large-scale, inclusive dialogue can meaningfully inform research priorities and policy agendas, with outcomes feeding into national funding programmes and Ireland’s Impact 2030 research and innovation strategy.
Panel discussion: reflections on effective, inclusive and sustainable citizen engagement
The project showcases were followed by a panel discussion involving four panellists with extensive experience of citizen engagement in both national and European contexts: Professor Alan Irwin, Copenhagen Business School and Chair of the European Commission Mutual Learning Exercise on Citizen Science; Maria Hagardt, Senior Research Officer at the International Secretariat of the Swedish Research Council and national representative to the European Commission Mutual Learning Exercise on Public Engagement; Dr Ken Skeldon, President of EUSEA and Head of Public Engagement at the University of Glasgow; and Frederike Schmitz, Programme Leader for Citizen Science and Societal Engagement at Open Science NL (part of the Dutch Research Council).
The discussion focused on how citizen engagement can move from inspiring examples to wider and more sustainable practice, drawing on shared learning from European initiatives, the Mutual Learning Exercises and practical experience.
What makes good citizen engagement?
Panellists emphasised that there is no single model of “good” citizen engagement, as what works depends on context, purpose and who is involved. Effective engagement was described as being closely tied to clear goals and intended outcomes, ranging from lighter-touch engagement to fully participatory practices. Honesty and authenticity about what engagement is intended to achieve were seen as essential, alongside clarity about how citizen input will make a difference. Reflections on the Mutual Learning Exercises highlighted mutual learning and demonstrable impact as key characteristics of successful engagement. Good engagement was also linked to adequate planning, governance structures and strategic thinking, rather than ad hoc or one-off activities.
Practices for inclusion and motivation
Inclusion was discussed as requiring significant work before engagement activities begin, including defining who should be involved, why, and how. Building trust emerged as central, particularly when working with marginalised or underrepresented groups, and often depends on long-term relationship-building and working through trusted community actors. Panellists highlighted the value of recognising different forms of knowledge and experience, listening actively, and providing feedback to participants. Practical approaches included mapping communities and existing initiatives, adapting methods to different groups (such as people with disabilities), and using diverse platforms and disciplines, including arts and humanities, to reach different segments of society. Motivation was closely linked to ensuring that engagement leads to visible outcomes and avoids contributing to research fatigue.
What needs to change at system level?
At system level, the discussion focused on the need to move beyond measuring citizen engagement primarily in terms of reach or numbers of participants, and instead prioritise quality, depth and intensity of collaboration. Scaling was framed not as engaging more people, but as expanding opportunities for meaningful participation in ways that respect values, relationships and context.
Panellists highlighted the importance of institutional and national strategies, strong leadership, and dedicated funding instruments to support citizen engagement. The role of funders was seen as particularly influential, both through funding criteria and by opening up organisational structures to support participation. Broader cultural shifts were also discussed, including ongoing efforts under COARA (the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment) to reform research assessment by moving beyond citation-based metrics and better recognising social contribution, ethics and democratic participation. Investment in soft infrastructure – including time, skills, peer support networks and participatory capacity – was identified as essential to embedding citizen engagement sustainably within research and innovation systems.
Final reflections: lessons from practice
In a closing round, all of the speakers were invited to share their key learning points on citizen engagement, drawing on their experiences from research, policy and practice:
- Ivan Djordjević: Participation may feel like a mission impossible, but we should never stop believing in the process.
- Brendan Owens: Match robust processes with the right facilitators for the target audiences.
- Karen Verstraelen: Lower barriers by going where people are, instead of expecting them to come and find you.
- Beitske Boonstra: Effective engagement depends on teamwork across levels – from community leaders and local residents to researchers, university leadership and funders.
- Alan Irwin: Pessimism of the intellect and optimism of the will – recognise the challenges, but keep moving forward.
- Maria Hagardt: Be humble, open and curious when engaging with different publics, and acknowledge their knowledge and expertise.
- Ken Skeldon: Never underestimate the value of networking – you are rarely alone in facing these challenges.
- Frederike Schmitz: Practise what you preach by looking at your own organisation and opening up its doors.
From inspiration to action
Feedback from participants indicated that the event supported both reflection and concrete follow-up actions, with many gaining new perspectives on citizen engagement and reconsidering how engagement is designed, communicated and embedded in their work. Participants also highlighted intentions to explore showcased initiatives further, share insights internally within their organisations and review engagement approaches in current or planned projects. The diversity of approaches presented was particularly valued, with case studies seen as useful reference points for engaging citizens across different cultural, social and institutional contexts.
What’s next for ERA?
The event concluded with a short overview from Georgios Papanagnou, Policy Officer at DG Research and Innovation, European Commission, on the new ERA Policy Agenda (2025–2027) structural policy “Enhancing Trust in Science through Citizen Participation and Communication”, which launched in December 2025. Planned activities during 2026 include the establishment of a European Community of Practice.
Resources now available
All event materials, including the event recording, presentation slides and additional links, are available on the INSPIRING ERA resource page.
