JS-23.2
Are Civil Society Organisations Doing Research ?
Legitimate governance of science cannot be achieved by the research community alone. Science governance should take into account issues of broad public concern. Engaging CSOs (civil society organisations) in research design and implementation more effectively could help address these issues.
Publicly funded research has an obligation to produce outcomes beneficial to the public who fund it. In the European Union this obligation is reinforced by a complementary trend toward participatory governance.Momentum is growing to deepen democratic engagement through the participation of citizens, also in the research environment.
Unfortunately, the knowledge base underpinning CSO involvement in research is extremely thin. This knowledge foundation must be strengthened if Europe is to develop a research governance structure capable of accommodating CSO involvement effectively. We need to deepen our understanding of how CSOs are currently participating in EU-funded research – to what extent, in which roles, for what purposes and to what effect.
In a rigourous investigation of unprecedented scope, our study maps these parameters of engagement and analyse their underlying assumptions. The models being identified should allow us to evaluate research outcomes more efficiently and provide contextualized understanding of CSO participation moving forward.
The findings presented in our paper are based on the results of two surveys carried out by the CONSIDER project in 2012. The surveys, which covered all FP7 projects, were aimed at gathering essential information about participation of CSO’s in EU-funded research. Survey one was sent to 14,000 FP7 project coordinators and generated 2,959 completed responses. The role of CSOs in research projects is perceived very differently by academic institutions and the CSOs themselves. CSO participation in the FP7 research projects privileges an institutionalized professional type of civil society organisation over grass roots activists