Co-creating and testing the ENJOI outcomes through Engagement Workshops (EWs) and Labs

The Engagement Workshops and Labs are the core of ENJOI strategy to include experiences, skills and knowledge distributed in different social groups into the process of innovating science communication in an open manner. Researchers and practitioners of science communication and journalism from different countries are involved in co-creating Standards, Principles and Indicators (SPIs).

After the Engagement Workshops and Labs design, the time has come to move on to the implementation phase. This included an internal co-creation process coordinated by Science for Change, who also produced the participatory materials to be adapted and used during the local events.

To take into account local, geographical, linguistic and socio-economical differences, the Engagemen Workshops (EWs) were organised in Italy, Belgium, Spain and Portugal in local languages in each country from March to May 2022. The EWs counted with a diverse range of communication producers and target users such as science and data journalists, communication and dissemination experts, media editors, cross-sectional experts, local activists, teachers, and students.

In face-to-face events more than 50 participants in total co-created the Standards, Principles and Indicators (SPIs) for outstanding open science communication through different dynamics that were constantly adapted thanks to the cascade model used in the project. 

Read the Report on the ENJOI Engagement Workshops where you can find out how was the process in each country and the materials developed

After the first round of the Engagement Workshops, we organised another round of participatory events in the four selected countries (Italy, Belgium, Spain and Portugal) in Autumn 2022. These are the ENJOI Labs, aimed at refining the list of SPIs and defining the ENJOI tools. 

To successfully achieve the necessary results for the round of Labs that happend until December 2022, we developed a methodology for the quadruple helix stakeholders: civil society, industry, government and academia) bringing together a strong connection between the European project NEWSERA and ENJOI.

Read the ENJOI Engagement Methodology for target users and quadruple helix stakeholders

Mutual learning meetings were held after each Engagement Workshops and Labs to improve the ENJOI methodology. 

This allowed the collection and use of feedback in an iterative way from one local event to to the next one, to improve how to co-create SPIs and to start designing pathways to inspire the production of innovative practical tools for high quality science communication and journalism. 

After the first round of Engagement Workshops, the results achieved in Italy, Belgium, Spain and Portugal were discussed during the ENJOI Consensus Workshop, to further define and distill the  SPIs.