Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - DANDELION (Promoting EU-funded projects of inclusive, innovative and reflective societies)

Teaser

Over the last five consecutive framework programmes, the European Commission has supported research in the field of Socio-economic Sciences and Humanities (SSH) aiming to generate a positive impact into current pressing societal challenges. In fact, over the last decade...

Summary

Over the last five consecutive framework programmes, the European Commission has supported research in the field of Socio-economic Sciences and Humanities (SSH) aiming to generate a positive impact into current pressing societal challenges. In fact, over the last decade, around 3000 organisations from the European Union and beyond have been actively involved in more than 400 projects addressing issues related to migration, integration and demographic change, employment and new growth, cultures and citizenship, global justice and stability, reserving inequalities, etc. However, although research has produced valuable findings and promising results, these do not always reach its targets in society, policy or the market, thus hampering the opportunity to be fertilized and transformed into innovations with potential benefits and positive impact to our society.

The uptake and valorisation of research results and dissemination towards ‘knowledge end-users’ such as research and business communities, policy/decision makers, civil society and citizens and the media, is of paramount importance to deliver an efficient support for policies, foster innovation and contribute to build resilient, inclusive, participatory, open and creative societies in Europe.

DANDELION promoted the work of IIRS projects on a local, regional and European level by developing and implementing a series of innovative and exciting communication activities aimed at informing, educating and entertaining a wide cross-section of the European population, policy makers, academics and the media. DANDELION gave the IIRS’s ambitious philosophy the biggest profile by placing key challenges (e.g. the European economic and financial reform, the problems young people face in Europe, cultural heritage, European values and diversities, the EU\'s role as a global actor, the new forms of public sector innovation, etc.) at the heart of these activities by a) involving established science educators, b) creating clear lines of communication between projects and named mass media and c) utilising novel communications. Moreover, by giving dissemination managers the right tools and guidelines to reach the general public, policy makers, academia and the media, DANDELION guaranteed an improved access to research projects’ data in the future.

Work performed

- Nine (9) Policy Briefs and the respective Fact Sheets were developed based on the analysis of the work carried out by more than 50 EU-funded projects as well as by reviewing more than 80 relevant information sources (e.g. studies from international organisations and research teams). www.dandelion-europe.eu/en/useful-material/policy-briefs-and-factsheets.html
- Two (2) interactive games that act as a creative teaching tool for educating viewers/players about key research findings were developed (http://www.dandelion-europe.eu/en/servicesaction/social-media-games/social-games.html) :
- The GueSSH! game aims to dispel certain myths and demonstrate through a game-based approach that we tend to overestimate or underestimate SSH challenges.
- The EU@work game focuses on the work challenges faced by European society with an emphasis on youth unemployment in Europe.
- Two guides for “Need to disseminate SSH/IIRS research results? Learn how to reach your target groups” and “Guideline of good practices for dissemination and communication managers” were developed/They explain in an easy-to-follow, step-by-step process good practice for maximising the effectiveness of project dissemination. www.dandelion-europe.eu/en/infobase/communication-guides/dandelions-communication-guides.html
- An “IIRS-sensitive valorisation methodology” presenting a multi-sectoral/multi-disciplinary valorisation concept for sustainable IIRS impact generation was developed. The so-called “Impact Readiness Level” flow model presents an actionable SSH-sensitive assessment model of readiness to deliver impact.
- An Advisory Board was created and more than 65 experts expressed their interest to be involved covering all major policy areas, while all key types of stakeholders were represented (Policymakers/Public Authorities, Academia/Research, Civil Society/NGOs, Business/SMEs) following the Quadruple Helix innovation model.
- An on-line map displaying all FP7-SSH and H2020-IIRS projects as well as the AB members was developed offering a short profile of each project/expert. www.dandelion-europe.eu/en/community/map-with-projects-experts.html.
- An on-line collaborative platform was developed to support the creation of multidisciplinary communities involved in SSH from a business, research and policy perspective as well as involve the general public and media, and facilitate the dissemination and exchange of ideas, research outcomes and SSH-related content thus leading to further collaboration opportunities among the different players. http://library.dandelion-europe.eu/
- Overall, 37 events were organised within the context of international conferences were more than 3.500 representatives of the research/academic and business communities and Non-Governmental Organisations, policy makers and EC officers from both DG RTD/Unit B4 and REA, (in some cases at Head of Unit level) actively participated.
https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8537663
https://www.facebook.com/dandelioneurope
https://twitter.com/dandelioneurope
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwMqPDgsb15PrlNTKIAmu3g

Final results

Over the 2 years more than 80 EU-funded SSH and IIRS projects were supported to increase visibility of their work and reach out to their targeted audiences, through a variety of support activities:
- Clustering SSH research knowledge and making it available in the form of short story-telling documents (Policy Briefs and Fact Sheets)
- Promoting knowledge and competencies in the form of an online interactive map which offers an overview of all FP7-SSH and H2020-IIRS (funded until Dec 2017) projects and experts
- Mentoring and coaching during the organisation of webinars and capacity building training seminars
- Organising events in unconventional settings, such as open festivals, on the street, etc. (Thematic BarCamps and Charrettes)
- Developing a innovative online collaborative platform offering SSH projects the opportunity to communicate their research findings in attractive multi-media digital brochures (SEEDs);
- offering practical tips and guidelines to communication managers to improve their communication skills
- Developing interactive games acting as a creative teaching tool that educates viewers/players on key research findings
- Developing several types of short videos to communicate the project results

Website & more info

More info: http://www.dandelion-europe.eu.