EU-CONEXUS RESEARCH FOR SOCIETY

Project Information

EU-CONEXUS-RFS

Grant agreement ID: 101017436

DOI

10.3030/101017436

Project closed

EC signature date 7 December 2020

Start date 1 March 2021

End date 29 February 2024

Funded under

• SCIENCE WITH AND FOR SOCIETY

Total cost

No data

EU contribution

€ 1 992 960,00

Coordinated by

LA ROCHELLE UNIVERSITE
France

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - EU-CONEXUS-RFS (EU-CONEXUS RESEARCH FOR SOCIETY)

Reporting period: 2022-09-01 to 2024-02-29

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

EU-CONEXUS RESEARCH FOR SOCIETY’s primary objective was to promote institutional transformations at all partner universities for to the creation of a multidisciplinary, challenge-driven, internationally competitive research and innovation structure, relying on polyvalent researchers who follow a multifaceted career path, and which is open to qualitatively new, participatory and innovative partnerships with industries and the civil society.
The project supported and helped to consolidate a specialised research dynamic within the “European University for Smart Urban Coastal Sustainability” (EU-CONEXUS) and in the European Research Area (ERA) on “Smart Urban Coastal Sustainability” (SmUCS) themes by creating an environment conducive to the emergence of a joint research and innovation agenda in synergy with the educational dimension.
This overall objective was pursued by implementing specific activities aimed at creating a new approach for interdisciplinary research in line with European and global initiatives for sustainable development, such as the Green Deal, SDGs, and the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.
Improving the working environment and career path of a modern researcher in the interdisciplinary context of SmUCS was a major concern of the project. Comparative studies and best practices exchanges contributed to develop a stimulating career environment within the Alliance. Researchers gained more opportunities to benefit from partners’ complementary skills and infrastructures and enrich their career profiles making them genuine "European researchers" capable of adapting to different contexts of doing research.
Fruitful interactions within the Alliance, but also with stakeholders, and the wider society on SmUCS issues (e.g. energy, environmental impact, biodiversity, societal behaviour) were promoted through organized thematic conferences, hackathons, joint COST action project, participatory science events, joint data collection, joint infrastructures as well as sharing results on OpenAire, etc.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

WP 1 has worked on transversal issues such as ethics, data management, research integrity that accompany a coherent strategy and agenda setting in research. A data management plan, a Code of Conduct regarding research integrity and a Gender Equality Plan has been created to incentivize institutional transformation and the harmonisation of institutional policies. WP1 ensured efficient and smooth administrative and financial management, continuous monitoring of project outcomes and quality checks.
WP2 worked on creating the conditions for a common scientific policy within the Alliance based on a benchmarking of the institutional environments and legislation for research. Relevant research networks for SmUCS have been identified and a research and innovation community in the ERA (COST action) was created. Interdisciplinary approaches to SmUCS topics were promoted with interdisciplinary conferences which helped to create a roadmap on “How to engage in interdisciplinary research”.
WP3 strengthened socially responsible management and developed human resource policies (such as the Responsible Research and Innovation strategy) within the Joint Human Resources unit. Researchers’ profiles and competencies were mapped and integrated into a joint database (RIIS-Research and Innovation Information System). HR unit collected a good practice in research, education and management that helped partner universities to gain the HRS4R award. They also launched a Talent development programme of transversal skills for Alliance young researchers.
WP4 mapped the existing physical and digital infrastructures in the Alliance exchanged knowledge about these data and identified the synergies. A list of external services of partner universities was prepared and a common access policy for joint research infrastructures and services and the actual pooling of digital scientific resources was developed. The research infrastructure data was incorporated into the RIIS architecture.
WP5 strengthened relationships between universities and industrial sectors, in particular through the development of an innovation management strategy, but also through sharing best practices, manuals, documents and scientific advances to promote innovations. A joint website “InnovationHUB” was launched where partners are showcasing their innovations at all levels.
WP 6 strengthened links with society, private companies and stakeholders by offering knowledge transfer through a specific focus on sharing knowledge with citizens living in coastal areas through the organisation of mediation events, and by offering an Open Aire platform for open science and open access, popular science journal.
Communication and dissemination coordinated by WP7 used social media platforms, quarterly issued newsletter, and regular updates of the EU-CONEXUS website with news, project outcomes and other useful information for researchers and research managers.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The overall concept underpinning the project is the consolidation of the R&I on SmUCS within EU-CONEXUS, including the institutional transformational process for the partners.
The project reached its 6 main expectations:
(1) Through the description of the specific challenges each university is facing the project identified best practices and developed new modes of cooperation on a strategic and operative level. The strengthened ties between researchers on SmUCS themes created the core of a Joint Research Area within the EU-CONEXUS Alliance with an impact on the ERA and on a worldwide scale.
(2) By providing new and sustainable incentives and structures researchers’ mobility and access to multiple work environments and transversal training programmes forged a new profile of a European researcher who has a more encompassing conception of environmental, sustainability and societal issues.
(3) Enabling intra-alliance access to information about research infrastructures, data, human resources, outputs, industrial cooperation, etc. increases exchanges, enables and strengthens cooperation and co-creation, and will help to build a growing number of inter-partner projects. It also created new opportunities for interdisciplinary research and wider international collaboration.
(4) Newly launched joint infrastructures such as Research and Innovation Information System (RIIS), InnovationHUB and OpenAire gateway are boosting the Alliance community visibility within the partner universities, and stakeholders all over Europe and beyond. Building on the feasibility study for the sharing of research infrastructures will promote the pooling of resources.
(5) Exchanges with local and regional authorities, companies, and non-profit and non-governmental actors of the social and economic innovation system through Hackathons, popular science events, open science data, etc. created the basis for deploying sustainable and intelligent solutions to challenges that coastal areas and cities are facing.
(6) By providing easy access to a variety and large set of research data the project aimed at continuously spreading knowledge on SmUCS topics and supporting the development of a more sustainable society. The an open science platform (OpenAire gateway) was created in order to share a large set of research data (publications, documentation, primary data, collected from each partner university) with the whole society.

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