Civil Society Organisations in Research
Broader stakeholder engagement in technical and scientific research is desirable for a variety of reasons. Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) can be optimal actors to realise the promise of participative research governance. Despite much activity to stimulate and implement CSO participation in research, there is no agreement on how to evaluate the success of participation.
CONSIDER is undertaking conceptually sound and empirically rich research to establish a model of CSO participation in research. This contrasts theoretical views on benefits and limitations with empirical findings on the practice of CSO participation. Based on a grid of analysis, the project did a survey of all FP7 research projects, and investigates 30 relevant projects as in-depth case studies. Using the conceptual grid of analysis and empirical data, a model of CSO participation in research is being developed. This model, representing relationships and causal effects of factors influencing CSO participation, will allow for comparative analysis of such to determine the role they play in achieving participation objectives. No such model currently exists, which renders it difficult to plan, implement and evaluate CSO participation in research.
The following video provides an introduction to the project by the Consortium Members:
Interviews explaining the content and findings of the EU Project CONSIDER (www.consider-project.eu)
