News / Events

03/07/2014

The VOICES consultation process gathered opinions and ideas about urban waste from citizens across the EU.

It used science centres and museums as powerful spaces for public engagement. The results were fed back to policymakers in order to influence the direction of EU research policy.

VOICES answers the Science in Society 2013.1.2.1-1 call on citizen participation in science and technology policy.

Why VOICES?

At the heart of the VOICES project is the idea of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI  ). This means that while designing the research and innovation process, we have to consider ethical aspects and the needs of citizens. Research should be ready to adjust its shape to ensure it fits society's requirements.

How can I use VOICES?

The results of the VOICES consultation directly affected the European Commission's Horizon 2020 calls for research funding. As such, VOICES is a model for incorporating citizens' voices into RRI. But the project outcomes can also be used by other stakeholders on a local and national, as well as European level, for example:

- Industry can make use of the results to look into gaps in the market for new innovations;
- Researchers can use VOICES results to align their research with the principles of RRI;
- Educators can use project outcomes to give a national and European perspective to classroom discussions on current science topics;
- Universities can use VOICES as a model for citizen participation.

Read more about the project here