Periodic Reporting for period 1 - VERITY (deVEloping scientific Research with ethIcs and inTegritY)
Período documentado: 2022-09-01 hasta 2023-08-31
Trust in science is crucial for ensuring scientific findings are accepted, used and translated into practical applications. 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 identify the different actors responsible for upholding trust and develop tools and methods for improving trust. It combines interdisciplinary expertise from social sciences and engineering to develop a protocol for the stewards of trust to increase societal trust in science, research and innovation and the research and innovation institutions. Previous EU funded projects have focused on particular actors of the trust in science ecosystem (e.g. scientists, research funding organisations) to explore the impact of particular ‘machines of trust’ (e.g. science communication, research ethics, research integrity). VERITY goes beyond the state of the art by conceptualising ‘stewards of trust’, ‘five machines of trust’ and ‘the ecosystem of trust’.
VERITY’s Objective 1 is to analyse and better understand the sources and consequences of mistrust in science and challenges of open science and science-society co-creation. These outputs take the form of a systematic literature and research review, stakeholder engagement through focus groups, and Social Network Analysis.
VERITY’s Objective 2 is to build collaboration across a large spectrum of the ‘stewards of trust’, other stakeholders and relevant projects. To this end, a comprehensive VERITY roadmap of stewards of trust and the ecosystem of trust has been prepared using a systems thinking approach. Stakeholder engagement, through the Advisory and Impact Board, and clustering with other ongoing HE projects, is ongoing.
VERITY’s Objective 3 is to explore, develop and test methods and tools for guiding trust in science and addressing challenges of open science and science-society co-creation. To achieve this, we have conducted a systematic evaluation of existing methods and tools for tackling mistrust in science, using the ‘five machines’ of trust (research ethics, research integrity, co-creation, technology assessment and benefit-sharing). Engagement with stakeholder through focus groups is ongoing and citizen engagement through a vignette study and surveys is upcoming.
VERITY’s Objective 4 is to develop and validate a protocol of recommendations for stewards of trust, namely: policy makers, RFOs, RPOs, higher education institutions and other R&I actors on guiding societal trust in the research system. The main output will be the VERITY Protocol of Recommendations and Policy Guidance. Co-creation and co-ownership of the VERITY Protocol will ensure greater uptake the Recommendations.
In addition, the following achievements that contribute to the success of the project should be noted. These are:
- Smoothly functioning management structures and procedures;
- Elaboration and implementation of the dissemination, exploitation and communication plan;
- Active participation of partners presenting the project at workshops and other events and issuing publications.
The EU-funded VERITY project will identify the different actors responsible for upholding trust and develop tools and methods for improving trust. It combines interdisciplinary expertise from social sciences and engineering to develop a protocol for the stewards of trust to increase societal trust in science, research and innovation and the research and innovation institutions. Previous EU funded projects have focused on particular actors of the trust in science ecosystem (e.g. scientists, research funding organisations) to explore the impact of particular ‘machines of trust’ (e.g. science communication, research ethics, research integrity). VERITY goes beyond the state of the art by conceptualising ‘stewards of trust’, ‘five machines of trust’ and ‘the ecosystem of trust’.
VERITY’s Objective 1 is to analyse and better understand the sources and consequences of mistrust in science and challenges of open science and science-society co-creation. These outputs take the form of a systematic literature and research review, stakeholder engagement through focus groups, and Social Network Analysis.
VERITY’s Objective 2 is to build collaboration across a large spectrum of the ‘stewards of trust’, other stakeholders and relevant projects. To this end, a comprehensive VERITY roadmap of stewards of trust and the ecosystem of trust has been prepared using a systems thinking approach. Stakeholder engagement, through the Advisory and Impact Board, and clustering with other ongoing HE projects, is ongoing.
VERITY’s Objective 3 is to explore, develop and test methods and tools for guiding trust in science and addressing challenges of open science and science-society co-creation. To achieve this, we have conducted a systematic evaluation of existing methods and tools for tackling mistrust in science, using the ‘five machines’ of trust (research ethics, research integrity, co-creation, technology assessment and benefit-sharing). Engagement with stakeholder through focus groups is ongoing and citizen engagement through a vignette study and surveys is upcoming.
VERITY’s Objective 4 is to develop and validate a protocol of recommendations for stewards of trust, namely: policy makers, RFOs, RPOs, higher education institutions and other R&I actors on guiding societal trust in the research system. The main output will be the VERITY Protocol of Recommendations and Policy Guidance. Co-creation and co-ownership of the VERITY Protocol will ensure greater uptake the Recommendations.
In addition, the following achievements that contribute to the success of the project should be noted. These are:
- Smoothly functioning management structures and procedures;
- Elaboration and implementation of the dissemination, exploitation and communication plan;
- Active participation of partners presenting the project at workshops and other events and issuing publications.
Activities contributing to the realisation of Objective 1 took place in WP1:
• A state-of-the-art, systematic literature review of 83 articles on the topic of public trust in science;
• A review of the results of 59 EU-funded projects that dealt with trust and science-society co-creation;
• Twelve focus groups and six interviews across Europe to identify the causes of mistrust in science and relevant strategies to foster trust;
• Social network analysis on the Twitter Covaxxy dataset, to explore patterns in sharing scientific information, misinformation, and fake news.
Activities contributing to the realisation of Objective 2 took place in WP2:
• Stakeholder mapping in the ecosystem of trust in science;
• Strategy for meaningful and inclusive stakeholder engagement;
• Creation of the Advisory and Impact (ADIM) board (19 members);
• Creation of a cluster of sister EU-funded projects (IANUS and POESIS projects).
Activities contributing to the realisation of Objective 3 took place in WP3:
An inventory and categorisation of relevant strategies and tools to increase trust in science, research and innovation. 11 strategies and approaches were identified with evidence-based effectiveness.
Other important coordination activities, contributing to the overall success of the project, were conducted in WP6:
• Quality Assurance procedures;
• IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) and Risk Management Plan;
• Data Management Plan (DMP);
• The VERITY Ethical, Legal, and Data Protection Compliance Protocol.
• A state-of-the-art, systematic literature review of 83 articles on the topic of public trust in science;
• A review of the results of 59 EU-funded projects that dealt with trust and science-society co-creation;
• Twelve focus groups and six interviews across Europe to identify the causes of mistrust in science and relevant strategies to foster trust;
• Social network analysis on the Twitter Covaxxy dataset, to explore patterns in sharing scientific information, misinformation, and fake news.
Activities contributing to the realisation of Objective 2 took place in WP2:
• Stakeholder mapping in the ecosystem of trust in science;
• Strategy for meaningful and inclusive stakeholder engagement;
• Creation of the Advisory and Impact (ADIM) board (19 members);
• Creation of a cluster of sister EU-funded projects (IANUS and POESIS projects).
Activities contributing to the realisation of Objective 3 took place in WP3:
An inventory and categorisation of relevant strategies and tools to increase trust in science, research and innovation. 11 strategies and approaches were identified with evidence-based effectiveness.
Other important coordination activities, contributing to the overall success of the project, were conducted in WP6:
• Quality Assurance procedures;
• IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) and Risk Management Plan;
• Data Management Plan (DMP);
• The VERITY Ethical, Legal, and Data Protection Compliance Protocol.
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. In this reporting period, the VERITY project has pursued the development of this concept in each of the three submitted research deliverables. However, given the early stage of the project, these deliverables have been primarily oriented towards establishing the state of the art to better surpass it in the future.
D1.1 - Review paper of previous EU projects’ results and recommendations – presents a thorough analysis of the results of 59 European Union (EU) funded projects that dealt with the issues of trust in science and science-society co-creation. Analysis of these projects resulted in the identification of five recurring themes and of the various challenges faced by previous projects, likely to affect attempts to enhance public trust in science.
D1.2 - Review Paper of the Scientific Literature - provides a summary of a systematic review of 83 articles on the topic of trust in science. The results include valuable insight on the current state of the art on the perceived trustworthiness of science by the public and factors affecting trust.
D3.1 - Report on the strategies, methods, and tools to tackle societal mistrust in science – is based on a systematic literature review, and summarised 19 studies. It identified 11 strategies and approaches with evidence-based effectiveness.
D1.1 - Review paper of previous EU projects’ results and recommendations – presents a thorough analysis of the results of 59 European Union (EU) funded projects that dealt with the issues of trust in science and science-society co-creation. Analysis of these projects resulted in the identification of five recurring themes and of the various challenges faced by previous projects, likely to affect attempts to enhance public trust in science.
D1.2 - Review Paper of the Scientific Literature - provides a summary of a systematic review of 83 articles on the topic of trust in science. The results include valuable insight on the current state of the art on the perceived trustworthiness of science by the public and factors affecting trust.
D3.1 - Report on the strategies, methods, and tools to tackle societal mistrust in science – is based on a systematic literature review, and summarised 19 studies. It identified 11 strategies and approaches with evidence-based effectiveness.