Call for proposals: 5th Living Knowledge Conference, May 2012

The 5th Living Knowledge conference will be held at the Gustav-Stresemann Institut, Bonn, on 10 - 12 May 2012. It will provide an opportunity for policy makers, academics and civil society organisations to consider current practice and future opportunities in the field of research partnerships.

The conference will focus on a variety of themes in order to gain insight into, and develop, specific policy recommendations that resonate with public concerns and articulated research needs. It will build on the experience and know-how of the previous Living Knowledge conferences in Leuven, Seville, Paris and Belfast. This will be an opportunity to bring together some of the key thinkers and practitioners in the area of community based research, university-community partnerships, and Science Shops, providing options and opportunities for collaborations, and ensuring that this area of work is prioritised on policy agendas both nationally and internationally.

The conference will also provide a platform for exchanging and discussing the findings and results of the first half of the Public Engagement with Research and Research Engagement with Society project, which was awarded financial support by the European Commission for broader engagement on science-related questions and structuring public engagement in research.

A call for proposals for the conference has now gone out:   

Over the past 10 years Science Shops and community-based research have found their place on the agenda of science policy-making. The forthcoming focus on innovation to guide research requires us to re-imagine research relationships and see how knowledge co-creation can be advanced over the coming years. Where do we need to focus and which coalitions need to change? How can civil society fully participate in the current co-creation of knowledge? There is ongoing interest in and focus on, the participation of citizens in community-based research, particularly in science-based policy processes and decision-making procedures.

For more details and to submit a proposal, visit the conference website: www.livingknowledge.org/conference