Michael Søgaard Jørgensen
(Science Shop Co-ordinator)
Department of Manufacturing Engineering and Management, Technical University of Denmark
Science shops are organisations that offer citizens groups free or very low-cost access to scientific knowledge and research in order to help them achieve social and environmental improvement. Originally developed at Dutch universities during the 1970's, science shops now also exist in Denmark, the U.K., Germany, Austria and Romania, as well as in a number of non-European countries (including Canada and the USA). Since the mid 1990'ies the international networking among science shops has been growing, due to funding of networking activities and research activities by the European Community. An international network, Living Knowledge is open to all interested persons, departments, science shops etc.
Most science shops are located at universities run by scientific co-ordinators, who act as the intermediary between a citizens group that poses a question and university researchers, teachers or students, whom conduct research in response. The co-ordinators also acts as project (co-)supervisor for the research. However, some science shops are not part of a university, but are community-based, non-profit private organisations through which researchers give advice to citizens groups. The knowledge need expressed by the citizens groups can in most cases be characterised as being one or more of the following three types:
• Problem documentation: the citizens group experiences a problem, which they want documented in order to make governmental authorities, companies etc. aware of the problem. This can also include counter-expertise
• Knowledge enhancement: the citizens group wants knowledge about possible future changes in technology, public policy etc. within a field of industry or a region, in order to be able to participate in the shaping of the future
• Perspective change: the citizens group wants assistance in developing preventive solutions to a problem, in order to support their efforts for social and environmental improvement.
The main benefits of the science shop model are:
- Science shops help empower citizens groups by giving them access to scientific research in a wide range of disciplines. This enables them to participate more effectively in democratic debate and helps build a strong civil society
- Because science shops are demand driven, science shops perform research that is actually used in society. That is, science shops facilitate knowledge production and use, and not 'just' transfer of knowledge. When citizens groups lack the capability to use the science shop research practically, they are supported in doing this
- Science shops develop education and research at universities. Students learn valuable skills in socially relevant practice.
- University curricula and scientific research take up new socially relevant themes in a multidisciplinary way. The capacity of universities is thus opened to benefit civil society directly
- Science shops are very cost-effective. Because students as part of their curriculum do much of the research, additional costs to universities and society are relatively low.
Some of these benefits are unique to university-based science shops; other benefits are general to all science shops.
2.1. The Science Shop at Technical University of Denmark
The Science Shop was started in 1985 and was the first science shop in Denmark. The Science Shop has three main objectives:
• To give citizen groups who need for advice on topics related to technology and society access to the resources of the university
• To contribute to the on-going renewal of the University based on the knowledge needs of the citizen groups approaching the science shop
• To give the students the opportunity to gain experience with project work and co-operation with citizens and citizens groups.
The Science Shop is affiliated to The Department of Manufacturing Engineering and Management. The personnel resource for the Science Shop is a part-time associate professor, a research assistant and a student assistant.
Most of the science shop projects are carried out by graduate students as part of their engineering education within the frame of an optional or mandatory course and project module and supervised by a Professor from the relevant department. The Science Shop supervises the co-operation between the citizen group, the students and the teacher. A few projects are carried out as short-term advice to the citizen group by the Science Shop, sometimes assisted by a Professor, or as research projects.
Based on the knowledge needs put forward to the Science Shop a number of initiatives have been introduced in research and curricula at the university:
• Research programme and new course modules within urban ecology, cleaner production and environmental management
• Research programmes and integration of new aspects into existing courses on waste water treatment and food technology
• Research and new course modules concerning technological change and co-operation between experts and citizen groups.
The Science Shop receives around 20 requests a year from different types of citizen groups. Around 15 projects are carried out per year. Some of the citizen groups approaching the Science Shop are NGOs concerned with energy related and environmental issues, NGOs working on traffic issues, local community groups, trade unions, and organisations for disabled people. Some of the most popular topics during the last five years are urban ecology, traffic and urban development, occupational health and safety, technology for disabled persons, and design.
The Science Shop is part of a network of three science shops in Zealand, which publishes its own newsletter ‘Applied Knowledge' twice a year. The science shops within the network also exchange the requests for advice from the citizen groups in order to make them known to as many students as possible.
2.2. Developing the role of Science Shops: Experience from an international research project
The INTERACTS research project (“Improving interaction between NGOs, Universities and Science Shops: Experiences and Expectations”) was a cross-national study conducted by Science Shops and institutions with Science Shop experience from seven different countries – Austria, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Romania, Spain, and the United Kingdom in the period from January 2002 to December 2003. The aim was to improve the interaction between small-to-medium non-governmental organizations (NGOs), universities and Science Shops by analysing the experiences of and the future expectations for co-operation between such NGOs and universities through intermediaries like Science Shops. The project was funded by the European Commission under the programme “Improving the Human Research Potential and the Socio-economic Knowledge Base”.
The focus of the INTERACTS research project was:
- The political and institutional contexts of co-operation between NGOs, Science Shops and universities in the partner countries
- The experiences of interaction between NGOs, researchers, students and Science Shops and the impact on societal discourses, research agendas and university curricula, based on a number of national case studies
- Dialogue about the expectations for and perspectives on co-operation between NGOs, researchers and Science Shops expressed by stakeholder groups at scenario workshops.
The public discourses on science and society in most of the INTERACTS partners countries are connected to the concept of the knowledge-based society. Co-operation between science and society is perceived to be important, but the focus for politicians and university policy-makers is mainly to generate and distribute knowledge with the aim of increasing economic competitiveness. This means that scientific knowledge primarily is seen as a means to achieve economic goals rather than satisfying the needs of civil society.
2.2.1. Key findings from national case studies
Twelve of the INTERACTS case studies were based on projects conducted by university-based Science Shops and nine case studies were based on projects conducted by community-based Science Shops. The case studies show that when NGOs or citizens approach Science Shops, their need for knowledge can be categorised as 1) Scientific analysis of a problem, 2) Enhancement of knowledge around a certain topic, 3) Research on impact of governmental projects, 4) Development of solutions, or 5) Evaluation of NGO or community services/projects. To get access to free or low cost research and independent research through the Science Shops is important to the NGOs when approaching a Science Shop.
The co-operation with Science Shops can have an impact on the NGOs, such as building up capacity in the NGO for analysis, networking and service delivery, and influencing the public discussion about a topic. The case studies also show that Science Shops contribute to the tasks of the universities, by contributing to student competencies and skills through the possibilities for problem-based learning, and by contributing to the strategic societal role of universities. Science Shops might act as knowledge repositories ensuring continuity and progress from project to project, and act as an antenna for new societal topics, whereby new research and teaching areas might be established.
2.2.2. Key findings from national scenario workshops
The future expectations for co-operation and dialogue between NGOs and universities through intermediaries such as Science Shops were discussed through seven scenario workshops held in the INTERACTS partner countries as one-day events with participants representing different role groups: Science Shops staff, university researchers and students, citizens groups and policy makers. The scenario workshops identified a desire among the participants for more networking and continued discussions of how to develop the dialogue between science and society. The scenario workshops further showed a wish among the participants for more open universities, which are willing and interested in addressing problems and issues perceived important by civil society. More democracy in societies' decision-making processes was also an issue, which the participants at the scenario workshops identified as important for the future co-operation between science and society.
2.2.3. Policy recommendations
The INTERACTS consortium has drawn out policy recommendations for the strengthening of the role of Science Shops in a more democratic form of societal governance. The recommendations relate to five policy issues, which emerged through the project. Concrete proposals were developed for initiatives, which could be taken by universities, governments at different levels, NGOs, the European Commission and the Science Shops and their networks. The five policy issues are:
- How can Science Shops support the role of NGOs in developing civil society?
- How can Science Shops influence the curricula of universities to make them more responsive to the needs and demands of civil society?
- How can Science Shops influence the research agenda to make it more responsive to the needs and demands of civil society?
- What contribution are Science Shops able to make to regional development?
- How can Science Shops become economically sustainable?
Some of the recommendations for universities are:
- Co-operation with citizens and NGOs should be incorporated into the institutional policies and profiles for research and curricula at universities:
- Formal channels for this co-operation should be developed, including dialogue about future curricula and research
- Co-operation with citizens and NGOs should be integrated into the curricula and made a part of the staff tenure criteria
- Part of the local research funding should be available for co-operation between civil society and researchers.
Some of the recommendations for governments and the European Commission are:
- Encourage universities to establish community-based research and learning.
- (Co-)finance community-based research and learning, including the establishment of formal mediation channels like Science Shops.
- Invite NGOs to influence the needs, planning and implementation of public and private projects, programmes etc.
2.3. Financing Science Shops
Based on the experience from INTERACTS and other analyses of community-based research there are a number of models for funding Science Shop activities. In order to obtain a stable operation of a Science Shop, several of the models might need to be combined:
Universities which provide direct financial support for Science Shops, is the most readily sustainable model. The Science Shop staff can be dedicated Science Shop staff or it can be scientific staff conducting part of their teaching and research in the Science Shop. The project research is carried out by students for free as part of their education, by the supervisors as part of their ordinary work or by the Science Shop staff.
- Part-funding by university
Where universities are unable to finance the full cost of a Science Shop, there is sometimes the possibility part-funding, by attracting external funding from government or European programmes or private and charitable grants. However, such funding arrangements are inherently less stable, and require Science Shop staff to devote part of their time to fund-raising. University management needs to be aware of the existence of Science Shops and their potential and include them in university-led bidding procedures and proposals.
Some Science Shops, particularly those independent of universities, act as social entrepreneurs supporting socially beneficial research activity with NGOs through staff conducting profitable research or business activity with organisations and funding agencies which can pay market costs. This model could also be developed at universities with Science Shops being part of research centres where again profits from research conducted on a commercial basis are used to support the socially beneficial scientific research of Science Shops.
- Co-funding with NGOs for research and evaluation
Another model is for Science Shops to be involved with NGOs when the latter are making applications for funding by having Science shop research written into the bid to provide evidence on monitoring and evaluation of services. For funding agencies this would ensure an independent scientific assessment of the activities. This model is most likely to develop when there is a long-term relationship between a Science Shop and a specific NGO.
- Studentships and research grants
A further model would provide dedicated studentships and grants for Masters level students or researchers in Science Shops, who would then choose the most scientifically relevant issues to research. If this model is supplying a model with basic funding of the day-to-day work in a Science Shop it enables, in the case of PhD studentships, sustained research in an area over a period of years.
2.4. Planning and starting a Science Shop
Before starting a Science Shop, it is important to consider why you want to start the Science Shop at the university. Which needs do you expect the Science Shop to fulfil? Which benefits do you expect whom to get from the Science Shop? The initiative for Science Shops has sometimes come from students and sometimes from the scientific personnel at the university (or school or faculty). It is a good strategy to develop the proposal for a Science Shop as a joint initiative from students and scientists. It is also a good idea to involve possible users of a Science Shop to discuss the possible needs for
knowledge that could be covered by a Science Shop at the university. Students, scientific and maybe administrative personnel from the university and some possible user groups could form a planing group to be responsible for the preparation of an application.
An application for a Science Shop to a university should at least touch the following topics:
- Why a Science Shop at the university: potential benefits for the university and in the society.
- Potential user groups and their need for knowledge.
- Experiences from other Science Shops.
- Activities in the Science Shop.
- Affiliation of the Science Shop to the university: Organisation and management.
- Personnel in the Science Shop
- How can a Science Shop and students' project work fit into the curricula of the university?
- How can the scientific personnel be involved in the Science Shop work: As supervisors? By working themselves with requests?
- Budget and financing: University funding? External funding?
It is important to discuss the potential benefits from a Science Shop and stress that a Science Shop not only helps outside the university. It is also giving something to the university. These four types of benefits should be discussed:
- More democratic access to the resources of the university.
- Developing the relations between the university and the society.
- Giving the students experiences with project work and co-operation with user groups outside the university.
- Renewing research and education at the university based on the user groups' knowledge needs and developed through the project work.
It is an important part of the planning to get in dialogue with the possible users of a Science Shop and ask for requests for research and advice. Such proposals illustrate the needs to the planning group and can support the application by showing that there actually is a need for research and advice among lay people, NGO's and others. One or two pilot projects might be carried out as part of the planning work in order to get first hand experience at the university with co-operation with civil society groups.
The existing Science Shops perform a number of different activities. They all work with the requests from the user groups and some of them also work with renewing activities at the university. The need and the possibilities for these different activities should consider during the planning of a Science Shop:
- Short term advice: Answering by the Science Shop, using the scientific personnel at the university; referring to external sources
- Student project work
- Advisory groups for meeting with civil society groups on ongoing projects
- Research projects
- Developing new areas for education and research: Empirical fields, theories and methods for co-operation with civil society groups.
An important part of the planning is to prepare the budget for the Science Shop. Since the activities of the Science Shop are free, resources have to come from other internal or external sources. Some important resource needs for a Science Shop are:
- Personnel: Student employees, scientific personnel, secretary. The students are very important because they are close to the other students and the different departments. Salary to the personnel, including allocation of working hours of permanent personnel
- Volunteers: Networking with scientific personnel and students. There is a need for developing the networking at the universities within the topics the civil society groups are coming up with
- Equipment, including computers, and resources for copying, postage etc.
- Rooms and other facilities.
