Periodic Reporting for period 2 - POIESIS (Probing the impact of integrity and integration on societal trust in science)
Période du rapport: 2023-09-01 au 2025-08-31
As society’s reliance on robust scientific research and responsible innovation becomes ever more apparent, concerns regarding public trust and mistrust in science have intensified. POIESIS explores research integrity and the integration of society into research as key drivers of responsible knowledge creation and
systematically explores the effects of both responsible and irresponsible research conduct on public trust in science.
POIESIS creates viable pathways to achieving its intended scientific and societal impacts through an extensive re-search programme, which involves a comprehensive and diverse set of stakeholders. POIESIS
• Investigate the relationship between research integrity, public engagement in research, and trust in research.
• Examine how scientific misconduct, questionable research practices, poor or absent communication, and/or misinformation affect public trust.
• Examine the various roles that institutions related to research, communication, and funding play in promoting a research climate that is conducive to society's trust in science.
POIESIS builds a knowledge base about the linkages of research practices and societal trust in science, providing tar-geted scientific and policy recommendations for designated user groups about tackling societal mistrust in science and strengthening the co-creation of research and innovation contents by society.
systematically explores the effects of both responsible and irresponsible research conduct on public trust in science.
POIESIS creates viable pathways to achieving its intended scientific and societal impacts through an extensive re-search programme, which involves a comprehensive and diverse set of stakeholders. POIESIS
• Investigate the relationship between research integrity, public engagement in research, and trust in research.
• Examine how scientific misconduct, questionable research practices, poor or absent communication, and/or misinformation affect public trust.
• Examine the various roles that institutions related to research, communication, and funding play in promoting a research climate that is conducive to society's trust in science.
POIESIS builds a knowledge base about the linkages of research practices and societal trust in science, providing tar-geted scientific and policy recommendations for designated user groups about tackling societal mistrust in science and strengthening the co-creation of research and innovation contents by society.
POIESIS has reached all of its stated tasks and deliverables for the stipulated time frame. In this regard, POIESIS has concluded its comprehensive empirical programme, including a) the stocktaking and analysis of existing data streams on citizen trust and conducting three expert workshops; b) three across-country studies including deliberative work-shops, expert interviews, and a survey experiment focusing on ‘chains of mediation’ and on the intersection of integri-ty, trust, and integration; and c) participatory actions including an across-country focus group study and open delibera-tive roundtable workshops in which institutional stakeholders actively co-create knowledge and policy recommenda-tions about the ways in which institutions can help create fertile conditions for responsible research practices.
In addition to the research studies conducted, main achievements for the second reporting period include:
• Two key indicators has been developed in relation to the concept of “Cultures of Trust”, a two-dimensional framework that maps European countries and regions according to their TT100 and Gdwill100 scores. This approach moves beyond simple ranking towards a contextual understanding of how trust in science varies across Europe.
• Comprehensive yet easily accessible figures and infographics have been drafted as visualised results of the analyses.
• An international network of survey operations has been established.
• POIESIS has involved more than 500 stakeholders in its empirical and participatory studies and consultative activities.
• In exploring the role of institutions in fostering a research culture that strengthens trust in science through a focus group study and deliberative roundtables, 24 institutional co-investigators were involved throughout the research process from refining the protocol to data collection and reporting. Through this approach, the project
integrated practical expertise, and the collaborative design strengthened the study’s analytical depth and poli-cy relevance, while also promoting institutional learning and, expectedly, the long-term sustainability of its outcomes.
• Building on the empirical work, POIESIS has developed evidence-based recommendations that highlight key opportunities, challenges, and pathways for strengthening the relationship between science and society - and, crucially, how stakeholders can contribute to maintaining this relationship in a healthy and robust manner.
• Together with its sister projects, VERITY and IANUS, POIESIS has worked to amplify the collective voice of the research community on issues of trust in science, ensuring broad dissemination of the resulting discussions and recommendations.
In addition to the research studies conducted, main achievements for the second reporting period include:
• Two key indicators has been developed in relation to the concept of “Cultures of Trust”, a two-dimensional framework that maps European countries and regions according to their TT100 and Gdwill100 scores. This approach moves beyond simple ranking towards a contextual understanding of how trust in science varies across Europe.
• Comprehensive yet easily accessible figures and infographics have been drafted as visualised results of the analyses.
• An international network of survey operations has been established.
• POIESIS has involved more than 500 stakeholders in its empirical and participatory studies and consultative activities.
• In exploring the role of institutions in fostering a research culture that strengthens trust in science through a focus group study and deliberative roundtables, 24 institutional co-investigators were involved throughout the research process from refining the protocol to data collection and reporting. Through this approach, the project
integrated practical expertise, and the collaborative design strengthened the study’s analytical depth and poli-cy relevance, while also promoting institutional learning and, expectedly, the long-term sustainability of its outcomes.
• Building on the empirical work, POIESIS has developed evidence-based recommendations that highlight key opportunities, challenges, and pathways for strengthening the relationship between science and society - and, crucially, how stakeholders can contribute to maintaining this relationship in a healthy and robust manner.
• Together with its sister projects, VERITY and IANUS, POIESIS has worked to amplify the collective voice of the research community on issues of trust in science, ensuring broad dissemination of the resulting discussions and recommendations.
The findings of POIESIS challenge existing assumptions on the roots of societal trust and provide avenues for both research and practice in the areas of research integrity, public engagement, and science communication. All three areas are relevant for societal trust, but POIESIS motivates revisions of the assumptions that it sought to investigate. Three areas of further research would be particularly fruitful in resolving the challenges posed by POIESIS:
• Understanding the relationship between perceived internal and external threats to research integrity in the public eye
• Understanding limits and potentials of public engagement ensuring that the potentials within this field are met through better incorporating the concerns among stakeholders who are hesitant to engage in these initiatives
• Understanding whether concerns regarding science communication in changing landscapes are well founded, and which issues and potentials new communication formats have for the societal conversation on science.
• Understanding the relationship between perceived internal and external threats to research integrity in the public eye
• Understanding limits and potentials of public engagement ensuring that the potentials within this field are met through better incorporating the concerns among stakeholders who are hesitant to engage in these initiatives
• Understanding whether concerns regarding science communication in changing landscapes are well founded, and which issues and potentials new communication formats have for the societal conversation on science.