Interview with partner organisation: Chaperone Successful civic and participatory initiatives depend on researchers’ preparedness and mindset.
Chaperone’s mission is to empower scientists and research professionals to build meaningful, sustainable, and impactful careers both within and beyond academia. We aim to bridge the gap between research, society, and the job market by providing tailored career support, training, and guidance to individuals and institutions.
The mission aligns closely with EPiCS’s goals, particularly in promoting civic engagement and research service-learning. Through our work, we help researchers recognize the societal value of their expertise and translate it into collaborative, citizen-driven, and interdisciplinary initiatives. By fostering skills such as communication, project management, and stakeholder engagement, we contribute to preparing researchers to actively participate in citizen science and participatory projects while developing important transferable skills that can open career opportunities for them.
“By fostering skills such as communication, project management, and stakeholder engagement, we contribute to preparing researchers to actively participate in citizen science and participatory projects while developing important transferable skills that can open career opportunities for them.”
It is our first time working on a project that directly addresses these topics. However, we already collaborated with numerous European research institutions and universities engaged in participatory and citizen science projects. Our contribution often focuses on the human development and training dimension — for example, supporting researchers to integrate responsible research practices, stakeholder engagement, and science communication into their projects, and communication and project management actions of the projects.
One key lesson from our experience is that successful civic and participatory initiatives depend on researchers’ preparedness and mindset. Many scientists are eager to contribute to citizen science but often lack training in collaboration, communication, and stakeholder dialogue. We’ve learned that providing early, practical training and fostering an open, reflective approach are essential for long-term engagement.
“institutional support and recognition play a major role.”
Another lesson is that institutional support and recognition play a major role. Without embedding participatory approaches into institutional structures and the right incentives for example an holistic assessment of research performance that includes impact beyond traditional academic metrics (publications and grants), individual motivation may fade. Thus, systemic alignment between personal development and organizational goals is critical: an insight we bring to EPiCS.
Through EPiCS, we hope to strengthen our contribution to building a culture of open, engaged, and socially responsive research. We aim to:
Support the development of training models that empower researchers to engage with society through service-learning and citizen science;
Exchange best practices with partners working at the intersection of education, research, and civic participation;
Expand our role in helping research institutions embed participatory and deliberative approaches into their professional development programs.
Ultimately, our goal is to contribute to a sustainable framework that connects researchers’ professional growth with societal impact in full alignment with EPiCS’s mission.