Bereich: Forschungspolitik & Entwicklung

The article reviews various concepts of participatory science and research and discusses their potential to exhibit impact on the relationship between science and society. Starting with an overview of rationales, concepts and challenges, different forms and intensities of participatory approaches in research and innovation are discussed. We then look at the situation in Austria and sort selected Austrian funding programmes and initiatives into a diagram according to the intensity of participation as well as the social groups involved in each case. Finally, we try to gain more precise indications of the impact of participatory programmes on the relationship between science and society. Many questions remain unanswered, as precise analyses and evaluation results are usually lacking. While different surveys provide insights into society’s level of information on a general level, interest, involvement and attitude towards science and research, approaches for impact assessment are fragmented and remain on the surface. We therefore propose to develop an analytical framework based on existing approaches and to include collaboratively developed indicators in it.
 

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AutorInnen: Sturn, D., Jakob Kofler, Elisabeth Nindl, Magdalena Walzer