On Friday, 2nd of July, 2021, the INCENTIVE consortium met for the project’s second consortium meeting (in a genuine summer mood). Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the meeting was held virtually and hosted successfully by the University of Twente (Design Lab), the coordinator of the project. The meeting marked the end of the 1st semester of the project – which kicked off on February 2021 – and essentially paved the way for the post-summer activities, which will resume in September 2021.

During the meeting, all WP and Task leaders had the opportunity to present in detail the work that they performed during the 1st semester, the main challenges that they faced, and the results of their activities. Special emphasis was placed on WP1, led by AUTH, which entails a large-scale and multi-dimensional preparatory research work, whose findings will inform the subsequent development of Citizen Science Hubs in the four pilot Universities. The preliminary findings from the interviews, large-scale surveys, quantitative analysis, and desk research were discussed among partners, who also proceeded with deliberating on how the findings will inform the creation of open and inclusive Hubs that can accommodate the local societal needs in each ecosystem.

Moreover, the activities performed under WP2 and WP3, which refer to the co-creation and operationalization of the Citizen Science Hubs, respectively, were outlined by UT, SDA Bocconi, UAB, and UZH. The main dissemination and networking efforts and results (WR and ECSA), as well as the progress on the monitoring and assessment of the project’s activities (Q-PLAN), were also thoroughly presented to the consortium partners. The presentations of the Work Packages and the accomplished work gave the chance to all partners to bring up potential challenges, mitigation measures, and creative ideas on how to address critical aspects during the next semester. It also allowed partners to identify how each task feeds into other activities, and thus created a sense of common responsibility for the sound execution of all work packages.

Furthermore, during the opening of the meeting, several members of the project’s Advisory Board who could virtually attend, were given the floor to introduce themselves and be connected with consortium partners, as an ice-break activity. AB members were informed about the progress of the project while explaining their educational and professional background as well as the main reasons they decided to join the wider INCENTIVE family.

Stay tuned, because an exciting second semester is coming!

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