Project description
Minimising the knowledge gap between science and society through Citizen Science
Our civilization has benefited tremendously from fundamental science. However, the knowledge gap between research and society seems to increase, spawning misconceptions about the content, context and mission of science. The EUfunded REINFORCE project aims to engage and support more than 100 000 citizens to increase their awareness of science and their attitude towards it, eliminating anti-intellectual beliefs in society and providing citizens with the intellectual ammunition needed to become critical consumers of scientific knowledge. This goal will be achieved through four Citizen Science projects in the field of frontier Physics, where citizen scientists will be able to take part in the process of scientific discovery producing high-quality data and adding to our scientific knowledge.
Objective
Large Research Infrastructures in the field of frontier Physics have opened new observational windows to the universe and explore the structure of matter in extreme detail. These advancements require high levels of expertise and sophistication. On the other hand, society, lacking this level of expertise, merely observes these developments through outreach activities but does not actively contribute in the development of new scientific knowledge. This fact induces a gap between frontier science and society that can spawn misconceptions about the content, context and mission of public funded frontier science. The REINFORCE project comes to answer to the questions: a) Can citizens contribute in the development of new knowledge in frontier science? b) Can citizens apply this new knowledge to solve societal problems? c) How can we integrate citizen feedback? REINFORCE goes beyond outreach programmes and aims to minimize the gap between Society and Large Research Infrastructures in the field of Physics through the: i) development and implementation of 4 cutting-edge Citizen Science projects in the fields of Gravitational Waves, Neutrino Astronomy, Particle Physics and Cosmic Ray interplay with geoscience and archaeology with citizens: Citizens will analyze data and support the optimization of sensitive detectors in order to enhance their discovery potential. ii) implementation of a participatory design in citizen science: Communities of citizens will be developed, trained and empowered to contribute in the scientific mission of Large Research Infrastructures. iii) effective inclusion of sensitive citizen groups as well as the active interaction with secondary and tertiary education. iv) Aggregating best practices in a pan-European policy roadmap. REINFORCE aspires to engage more than 100,000 citizens across Europe and beyond, to help enhance society’s science literacy and awareness and to contribute in the production of scientific knowledge by citizens for society.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.5.c. - Integrate society in science and innovation issues, policies and activities in order to integrate citizens' interests and values and to increase the quality, relevance, social acceptability and sustainability of research and innovation outcomes in various fields of activity from social innovation to areas such as biotechnology and nanotechnology
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
RIA - Research and Innovation action
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-SwafS-2018-2020
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
56021 CASCINA
Italy
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.