The project coordinator of CASI – Ms. Zoya Damianova – presented the CASI project at a conference, entitled “Engaging Society in Responsible Research and Innovation: What’s Next?”, which took place on 9-10 November in Brussels in the frame of the Engage2020 project. The presentation was part of a session, discussing how engagement practices can help addressing the sustainability challenges in the field of environment, namely ‘Secure, Clean and Efficient Energy’, ‘Smart, Green and Integrated Transport’ and ‘Climate Action, Environment, Resource Efficiency and Raw Materials’. With view of the theme of the conference, Ms. Damianova focused her presentation on the participatory approach used within CASI, combining multi-level and multi-actor engagement at various stages of the project. The results and impacts achieved with the application of the various engagement methodologies within CASI were also discussed, as well as the challenges faced by the consortium in this process. At the end, Ms. Damianova shared a few ideas on the future of public engagement in Europe and encouraged organisations across Europe to engage in cross-country participatory processes, which hold the potential to contribute to research and innovation policy design at the European level. Another highlight from the presentation was the importance of education and training programmes to strengthen capacities across Europe for engaging in a meaningful dialogue and participation, as well as the inclusion of children and young people in these processes.
