SocKETs

About the project

The SocKETs project ran from 1 October 2020 to 30 September 2023.

SocKETs brought together six European partners with the aim to test and develop methods and tools to align the development of Key Enabling Technologies with societal values and needs. SocKETs facilitated co-creation between industry representatives, researchers, policymakers, end-users, civil society representatives and citizens, and developed tools for societal engagement in innovative technologies.

Scope

SocKETs (Societal Engagement with Key Enabling Technologies) brought together six European partners with the aim to test and develop methods and tools to align the development of Key Enabling Technologies with societal values and needs. SocKETs facilitated co-creation between industry representatives, researchers, policymakers, end-users, civil society representatives and citizens, and developed tools for societal engagement in innovative technologies. The project brought together a consortium providing access to industry actors and innovation networks, manufacturers, professional users, and citizens. It combined the opportunity to test, prototype, evaluate and distribute co-creative and societal engagement tools from the laboratory and innovation networks of innovators to the science museums of civil society. In the end, SocKETs developed a toolbox that enables KETs to be developed in dialogue with citizens and society.

To get there, SocKETs developed six test cases across Europe. Three cases were coordinated by SocKETs partners with their local networks focusing on different KETs:

Wearable electronics and health ;

Industrial Automation system and the changing nature of work and;

Advanced manufacturing technologies, advanced materials, ICT, Internet of Thing, AI and blockchain tech, and the circular economy.

By working closely with our four linked parties of the Ecsite network three other cases were developed: the Centre for Research and Analysis, Bulgaria; AHHAA science centre, Estonia; and the centre for the promotion of science, Serbia. A fourth linked party was also involved - Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci, Italy - who worked closely with the partner leading on the Advanced Manufacturing technologies case study. Here engagement tools were tested for inclusion into the SocKETs toolbox for industry on citizen engagement.

With the results of the case studies, Ecsite, together with our linked third parties  produced a framework for a living exhibition that was shown in each third-party location. This exhibition was based on a two-way dialogue where viewers can interact and engage with the KETs based solution devised in the project. The project believed that its participatory and interactive approach to developing the toolbox contributed in enhancing public understanding of cutting-edge technologies and their diverse applications; and it demonstrated how to engage citizens in dialogue and co-creation on priorities, expectations and concerns for realising the potential of KETs for societal benefit.