Sparks

About the project

The Sparks project ran from 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2018.

Coordinated by Ecsite, Sparks was an ambitious engagement project on the topic of technology shifts in health and medicine. It raised awareness and communicated the concept of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) to Europeans in 29 countries.

Scope

Sparks organised an interactive touring exhibition called "Beyond the Lab: the DIY Science Revolution". 230 innovative participatory activities such as science cafés, pop-up science shops, incubation activities and scenario workshops took place. Creative disruptions —in the form of artistic inputs and questioning—  helped to engage more stakeholders.The European dimension of the project paired with a strong emphasis on local implementation through 29 experienced science communicators that adapted the exhibition and activities to their contexts and established local multi-stakeholder collaborative partnerships.Sparks’ methodology emphasised interdisciplinary (science, art, policy, industry, research, science education) and participatory approaches to promote RRI in relation to health. This was a highly relevant research topic which is able to kickstart citizens’ and other stakeholders’ engagement in science and research.

The project also had a learning and policy component. Data was gathered from visitors of the exhibition in order to further build the capacity of science actors and policy makers to promote RRI and better understand society’s vision, interests and readiness concerning RRI in health.

Sparks used various levels of interaction and engagement (physical as well as virtual, including social media) to inform a very large number of stakeholders on the relevance of RRI and promote collective stewardship of research activities to the benefit of society. The combined networks of the organisations gathered around Sparks had a potential outreach of millions of individuals and organisations across Europe. The project engaged over 1 million individuals who either visited the exhibition and/or took part in its participatory activities.

SPARKS received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement no. 665825