Project description
Enhancing trust in science
Trust in science is crucial for ensuring scientific findings are accepted, used and translated into practical applications. If individuals and society do not have confidence in science, there is decreased support for scientific research, which can impede progress and innovation. However, trust in science can be challenged by a variety of factors, such as the publication of fraudulent research and the spread of misinformation through social media. The EU-funded VERITY project will ensure science is transparent, responsible and accountable. It will identify the different actors responsible for upholding trust and develop tools and methods for improving trust. The project will combine interdisciplinary expertise from social sciences and engineering to synthesise existing knowledge and produce a Protocol of Recommendations.
Objective
"Different ""machines of trust"" in science have been identified in the literature: research ethics, research integrity, science communication, benefit sharing and technology assessment. Previous EU funded projects have focused on particular actors of the trust in science ecosystem (e.g. scientists, research funding organisations, research ethics committees) to explore the impact of particular ""machines"" (e.g. science communication, research ethics). VERITY goes beyond the state of the art by conceptualising ""stewards of trust"" as the actors of the ecosystem that are responsible for upholding societal trust in science and facilitating science-society co-creation, either this refers to formally responsible organisations like research funding organisations and higher education institutions, or it refers to de facto responsible organisations like social media companies and video streaming platforms which influence societal perceptions of science and innovation. VERITY combines multidisciplinary expertise, both from the social sciences and engineering, to synthesise existing knowledge to evaluate tools and methods for enhancing trust in science through original research and small-scale participatory activities, before producing the VERITY Protocol of Recommendations for ""stewards of trust"". VERITY brings forward interdisciplinary expertise to perform network analysis and execute interventions on social media, to validate the VERITY Protocol and alleviate practical barriers for its uptake in practice by different stakeholders. VERITY findings will be widely disseminated to different ""stewards of trust"", such as policymakers, research funding and performing organisations, higher education institutions and other research and innovation actors, to enhance societal trust in science and facilitate science-society co-creation."
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-RIA - HORIZON Research and Innovation ActionsCoordinator
Dundalk Louth
Ireland
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.