SIP Talks
How to foster trust in science in complex times?
Lessons from the VERITY Horizon Europe project
This talk will present key findings from the VERITY project, which explored what shapes public trust in science across Europe.
Trust in science is a crucial element of a well-functioning, evidence-based society, particularly when addressing global crises such as pandemics or climate change. Recent research shows that this trust is strongly influenced by socio-economic, institutional and political factors. The VERITY project (Horizon Europe) aimed to explore the complexity of these factors using a novel analytical framework based on an ecosystemic understanding of trust in science.
As a final outcome of the project, 100 actionable policy recommendations were developed across six key strategies, based on the results of a series of participatory activities.
In this SIP Talk, the project’s main findings will be presented, focusing in particular on the overarching analytical framework, the participatory activities involving experts and citizens, and the role of the Austrian project partner (ZSI). These central conclusions support all those interested in gaining a better understanding of the dynamics and driving forces of trust in science, thereby contributing, in a time of major technological and political change, to a society that is more resilient to misinformation and fake news.
After presenting the result, Gábor Szüdi, together with co-author Pamela Bartar (ZSI), will engage in a discussion with the online and in-presence audience.
Resources
- „How to foster trust in science?“, G. Szüdi & P. Bartar’s Presentation [PDF]
About the person
Gábor Szüdi
Dr Gábor Szüdi has been a Senior Researcher and Project Manager in the Department of Research Policy and Development at the Centre for Social Innovation (ZSI) GmbH since 2016. He holds a PhD in Economic Policy from the University of Economics in Bratislava (2016). From the beginning of his career, Gábor has been involved in the preparation of proposals, and in the management of grants and projects for various international programmes (FP7, Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe, Interreg Danube Region, EEA and Norway Grants) on topics related to EU research and innovation (R&I) policy and international R&I cooperation. His projects have often focused on societal engagement, co-creation, impact and the acceptance of scientific research. In the field of trust in science, he co-led the work packages on participatory approaches within the TRESCA (Horizon 2020) and VERITY (Horizon Europe) projects.
Pamela Bartar
Pamela M. Bartar is team member of the Centre for Social Innovation (ZSI) in Vienna working in different positions (since 2009) such as Coporate Communication Coordinator and European Research Project Manager (current). Her focus in practice and practice based research lays on participatory approaches and public engagement including dimensions of RRI, science communication, PR and social media, as well as art & knowledge transfer.Pamela is lecturer in the field of communications at the University of Vienna and also teaching at the “Kinder University” – a special summer programme for young scientists by the University of Vienna addressed to children between 6 and 14 years. Moreover, she is an experienced project manager and was involved in a representative range of socio- and intercultural projects. Pamela holds a master degree in communication science and media studies (Mag.a) as well as in cultural management and gender studies (MAS).