Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - NUCLEUS (NUCLEUS - New Understanding of Communication, Learning and Engagement in Universities and Scientific Institutions)

Teaser

The NUCLEUS project develops new cultural and organizational approaches to help scientific institutions respond to societal needs and challenges. An international, transdisciplinary consortium of 24 institutions from 15 countries, including Europe, China, South Africa and...

Summary

The NUCLEUS project develops new cultural and organizational approaches to help scientific institutions respond to societal needs and challenges. An international, transdisciplinary consortium of 24 institutions from 15 countries, including Europe, China, South Africa and Georgia, is united by a common understanding that R&I are driving forces of sustainable and inclusive societies. Over 4 years, NUCLEUS will design and implement new ways to embed Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) into the governance and culture of universities and scientific institutions. It will do so by encouraging a New Understanding of Communication, Learning and Engagement in Universities and Scientific institutions (NUCLEUS).

At the heart of the NUCLEUS project lies the idea that RRI functions in the same way as cells in an organism. The university “cell” is embedded within a responsive cluster of others cells: Public Policy, Public Engagement, Civil Society, Media and Economy. In this way the project aims to make the complex RRI approach accessible to stakeholders inside and outside academia, to policymakers and to society at large.
By supporting a productive “metabolism” between Universities and the surrounding cells, NUCLEUS aims to create energy-driven reactions that foster RRI processes which respond to a variety of diverse expectations, needs, values and socio-cultural environments.

This contextualised understanding of RRI is reflected in the transdisciplinary profile of the consortium, as well as in the structure and content of the project’s development.

Overall Objectives
• NUCLEUS will collaboratively identify, develop, implement and support inclusive and sustainable approaches to RRI in the governance and culture of academic institutions.
• The project will reach out for further excellence and plurality of perspectives in the development of RRI.
• NUCLEUS will strive to achieve a developed understanding of RRI, based on systematic and individual reflections from within the scientific community and expectations, demands and challenges from outside the academic world

Work performed

In Reporting Period I NUCLEUS directed its efforts towards an ongoing process of collective knowledge- and capacity-building. This mode of mutual learning and reflexivity is particularly relevant to the interrelated RRI approach described above.

Work Carried Out in Reporting Period I

1. An Interdisciplinary Study, conducted by Bielefeld University, methodologically analyses structural, socio-cultural and individual barriers to RRI in the scientific community. Parallel to this study six Field Trips explored each of the cells as a framework necessary to conduct RRI as a transdisciplinary process.
2. By conducting interviews with stakeholders across Europe, China and South Africa during the study and the Field Trip interviews, a “NUCLEUS Living Network” began to evolve. This living network grew with each annual conference and the aim is to continue the process beyond the four-year timeframe (WP6).


Reporting Period 2 marked a major transition for the project – from groundwork and capacity building to implementation and practical application. In Phase 1, NUCLEUS analysed the structural, cultural and individual obstacles to RRI in scientific institutions. In Phase 2, the project began the process of developing innovative approaches to address and overcome these barriers.

Work Carried Out in Reporting Phase 2

1. Laying the groundwork for RRI: The survey of researchers and research leaders, together with a cross-cultural study were completed and uncovered trends in attitudes towards RI in academic environments. Recommendations from the studies, the field trips, and the working groups together with those from other projects then informed the development of an Implementation Roadmap.

2. Implementation Roadmap: The Implementation Roadmap introduced steps and actions to install 10 Embedded Nuclei and 20 Mobile Nuclei as innovative and reflective RRI test-beds in institutions across Europe, Georgia, China and South Africa. However, a key finding from Phase 1 was the need to adapt RRI to local circumstances. Therefore the Roadmap also set out a Framework for Action for Embedded Nuclei which gives details of possible actions in working towards the successful implementation of RRI.

3. Implementation: Across Europe, Georgia, China and South Africa ten institutions became hosts for Embedded Nuclei. These are dedicated units working to establish RRI in the culture and structures of their institutions. A system of mentoring provided support for each Nuclei and a range of tools and instruments were introduced to support ongoing learning during the reporting period.

Final results

One of the most important aspects that distinguishes NUCLEUS from other RRI initiatives funded by the EC during FP 7 and HORIZON 2020 is the project’s inclusive approach to RRI.

Five “keys” give direction to the EC’s policy on RRI: Ethics, Gender Equality, Open Access, Public Engagement and Science Education. NUCLEUS recognizes these as a valuable part of the RRI landscape. However, while the keys may be helpful in orientating oneself they may not be the best tool to act as guiding principles for action when it comes to multi-stakeholder engagement. A major aspect which distinguishes the NUCLEUS approach from other RRI projects is that it is less focused on the five keys and more oriented towards co-responsibility with and responsiveness to different stakeholders. Instead of focusing on the Keys as the sole indicators of RRI, the NUCLEUS concept reflects the idea of interrelations among different institutions and frameworks.

The six NUCLEUS Field Trips conducted in the first year proved to be an excellent opportunity to reflect on the RRI approach with practitioners from policy making, civil society, economy, media, public engagement and universities. Interviews for the project’s Interdisciplinary Study already show the diversity of expectations and different degrees of willingness to apply and perform RRI within academic institutions.

In the second and third years of the project the recommendations from studies, field trips, and other RRI projects were translated into the implementation of 10 Embedded Nuclei and 20 Mobile Nuclei as innovative and reflective RRI test-beds in institutions across Europe, Georgia, China and South Africa. It is through the practice of RRI (“Bringing RRI to Life”) that the project will develop practical recommendations for research leaders on how to implement RRI in a living network of partners committed to sustaining RRI beyond the life of the project.

Website & more info

More info: http://www.nucleus-project.eu/.