Building a Shared Vision for RIECS-Concept: Consortium Workshops in Milan, 24-25 September 2025
✳️ As the RIECS-Concept project moves from its initiation phase into active stakeholder engagement, partners from across Europe gathered in Milan on 24–25 September 2025 for two days of in-person workshops designed to lay the conceptual foundations of the Research Infrastructure for European Citizen Science (RIECS-Concept).
📌 Hosted by the University of Milano-Bicocca, this milestone event brought together consortium members to co-create a shared vision, mission, and vocabulary for RIECS-Concept, and to align on how each partner will engage with stakeholders and citizens in the months ahead.
Why This Workshop Matters
✳️ After completing the initial phase of the project, RIECS-Concept now enters a pivotal stage: collaborative design with stakeholders and citizens. Each partner will soon lead co-design activities to shape what the RIECS-Concept infrastructure will become.
✳️ To ensure these efforts are coherent and complementary, the Milan workshop focused on building a joint understanding across the consortium – from shared terminology and conceptual frameworks to a unified vision of RIECS-Concept’s goals and values.
✳️ Alignment on the expected outcomes of stakeholder engagement is equally essential. With clear guidance on data collection, documentation, and methodologies, partners can ensure that engagement activities yield high-quality insights feeding directly into the RIECS-Concept design process.
📌 The Milan workshops aimed to:
✳️ Develop a common vision, mission, and set of values for RIECS-Concept.
✳️ Establish a shared understanding of key terms and definitions.
✳️ Introduce the Stakeholder Engagement Protocol and clarify the expected outputs of engagement activities.
✳️ Exchange best practices and methodologies for effective stakeholder involvement.
Setting the Stage for a European Citizen Science Infrastructure
✳️ The Milan workshop helps ensure that all consortium partners start the next project phase with a common understanding and shared purpose. By aligning on fundamental concepts and engagement practices, RIECS-Concept aims to build a research infrastructure that reflects the diversity, creativity, and collaboration at the heart of European citizen science.
✨ Together, the consortium is laying the groundwork for an inclusive, sustainable, and impactful RIECS-Concept – one that enables citizens, researchers, and institutions to collaborate in shaping the science of tomorrow ✨
Published 2025-11-19