Introduction to Science Shops

What is a Science Shop: “Science shops are organisations that make knowledge available to civil society organisations that don’t have the means to pay or perform research themselves. Science Shops can be embedded within other organisations (universities, research institutions, companies) or established as independent organisations in the form of non-governmental or other not-for-profit organisations.” Says the Science shop establishment guide.

Key features at a glance

• A Science Shop creates dialogue between civil society organisations and the research community to support these initiatives.
• A science shop is all about sharing ideas and developing appropriate responses.
• For each project, public feedback and/or an accessible deliverable are used to make available all the knowledge that has been co-produced and the recommendations that have been made.

Introduction:

What is the format about?

Associations, local authorities and citizens’ groups sometimes need specific insights and knowledge to consolidate their actions, assess their impact or discover new approaches.

The Science Shops provide a link between the research community and civil society. They also encourage dialogue and collaboration between civil society and scientific research.

They offer potential for experimentation, thanks to a space for exchange and monitoring, particularly through seminars and workshops.

Associations, citizens’ groups or local authorities are supported in their questioning by researchers who mobilize students in the form of internships, challenges or group work.

How does the format work?

1. The Call for interest => formulation of requests. This call for expressions of interest is open for a fairly long period of approximately four months in order to receive all types of applications and have time to process them collectively, generally from February to May. A question of general interest is submitted to the Science Shop, studied and reformulated with a scientific committee to develop specialised support.

2. The Scientific committee => selection of projects. Each year, the science shop brings together a scientific committee composed of experts who examine the applications submitted through the call for expressions of interest and select around fifteen projects to be carried out each year. In some cases, the scientific committee redirects applications to other formats.

3. The Design and dissemination of offers => Applications and interviews

4. The Completion of group tutorial projects / Completion of individual placements. A team of researchers or students is then contacted and put together by the Science Shop to carry out a field study and work with these civil society players to develop a practical response to their problem.

5. The Dissertations / Presentations / Presentation of results => potential political decision-makers in attendance. A public presentation and/or an accessible final publication will make available all the knowledge that has been co-produced and the recommendations that have been made.

Tasks and resources

This is a programme to support the stakeholders in a project, promoting dialogue and collaboration between civil society organisations and scientific research.

The researcher, who wants to be more in touch with different stakeholders in the field and is interested in participatory research projects. They will get involved by taking part in seminars and workshops, and will benefit from centralised resources on the theme of participatory research.

The Science Shop gives researchers the opportunity to supervise a student or a group project and to support the implementation of research in conjunction with all the players involved.

It also allows them to take part in the work of exploring and supporting social demand, enabling them to find and advise partner structures for collective student projects or personal projects.

For larger-scale research projects, they can call on the expertise of the science shop’s third-party supervisors (participatory research supervisors).

Required resources at a glance

Examples

Boutique des sciences de l’Université Lumière Lyon 2

Sources and further reading

Leaflet Boutique des Sciences ULL2: https://www.calameo.com/read/0074134546a08abe69437

Guide pratique de la recherche participative (A practical guide to participatory research French version): https://lemouvementassociatif-aura.org/wp-content/uploads/bsk-pdf-manager/2024/11/GUIDE-RECHERCHE-PARTICIPATIVE.pdf

Website : le mouvement associatif : https://lemouvementassociatif-aura.org/nos-4-champs-actions/actions-innovation-sociale-associations-mouvement-associatif-auvergne-rhone-alpes/

Living Knowledge Network – the formal international network of Science Shops and Community Based Research : https://livingknowledge.org/

And their Science Shop Establishment Guide (pdf version) : https://www.scishops.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/SciShops_D4.4_Guide.pdf.pdf