What are benefits and risks of advancing nanotechnology research?
What are the expectations and concerns of the different people impacted by the development of this fast-growing field?
Could we gather this knowledge and design recommendations to shape future policies that will drive these advancements in a more responsible way?
NANO2ALL is an initiative funded by the HORIZON 2020 Programme of the European Commission and aims to support the cultivation of a Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) governance ecosystem, by enhancing transparency and public confidence, co-production of knowledge, societal engagement and informed dialogue as key factors in addressing societal concerns regarding the use of nanotechnology.
Led by Spi, a Portuguese consultancy organization that aims to support and promote innovation, NANO2ALL involves 12 partners, including Ecsite.
The first goal of the project is to develop a platform for mutual learning and societal engagement in responsible nanotechnology. This online platform is translated in more than ten different languages, constituting the starting point of many actions foreseen in the scope of the project.
Secondly, we will design activities to address knowledge gaps between the various people interested in advancing responsible nanotechnology. These many stakeholders include scientists, research funders, policy-makers, industries, the media and, of course, citizens.
NANO2ALL wants to stand on the shoulders of these successful initiatives by building on the previously generated knowledge while designing own innovative actions. Therefore, our activities will be based on information we will compile from key finished or ongoing projects that have already approached the theme of responsible nanotechnology.
To identify a shared understanding of the benefits and risks of advancing responsible nanotechnology, we will organise constructive citizens-only and later national multi-stakeholder dialogues. The six Ecsite third-parties will host and promote these local initiatives that will feed the end-event at the EU level. The ultimate objective is to develop an innovation agenda to be used by policy-makers at national and EU level that is based on and starts from societal needs, values and purposes.
Our final goal is to suggest evidence-based recommendations and develop a roadmap to enhance societal engagement in responsible nanotechnology.
We believe that NANO2ALL will improve citizens’ awareness, increase public trust, lead a better acceptability of nanotechnologies’ based products and solutions, and finally, it will contribute to a more inclusive European society.
Stay tuned and get involved!
NANO2ALL has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement no.685931
List of project partners
Sociedade Portuguesa de Inovação (SPI), Portugal
VILABS, Greece
Malsch TechnoValuation (MALSCH), Netherlands
Agenzia per la Promozione della Ricerca Europea (APRE), Italy
Ecsite, Belgium
NANOfutures (NfA), Belgium
L’Union Europeenne des Associations de Journalists Scientifique Association (EUSJA), France
European Materials Research Society (E-MRS), France
STICHTING VU-VUMC (VUMC), Netherlands
SYSTASI CONSULTING, Greece
UNINOVA – Instituto De Desenvolvimento De Novas Tecnologias, Portugal
Joint Research Centre - European Commission (JRC), Belgium
Resources
Are you a science engagement organisation planning to work on nanotechnology? A researcher in the field? A policymaker looking for some context on citizen perceptions of nanotechnology? Either way, NANO2ALL mapped the landscape: you’ll find the latest data on nanotech policy, research, social and societal impacts and citizen perceptions. Good reading!
Are you looking to engage your community on nanotechnology or new technologies in general with the help of actors working in the field? The EU-funded NANO2ALL project has you covered. Dive into fourteen case studies to find the format best suited to your context, tips on what to do and to avoid, and more.
The result of a long process of research, dialogue and stakeholder consultation by the NANO2ALL consortium, the NANO2ALL Roadmap gives decision-takers and policymakers feedback from stakeholders and advice from experts to foster Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) and social engagement in nanotechnology research and innovation.