ECOSIFU - European CO-creation of Science & Innovation for desirable FUtures

After more than two decades of practice and research in public engagement with science, the potential of the concept is still under-utilized. A first diagnosis points to the resistance of existing institutions and interests, which would prevent public engagement to provoke genuine Co-Creation processes in Science and Innovation. As such, integration of Society in Science and Innovation (S&I) is not yet fully happening, in spite of the myriad of experiments and mechanisms being developed at local scales and of the diffusion of Co-Creation practices in other contexts. ECOSIFU is meant to understand the sources of Integration Gap between what could be achieved and what is actually realised, and to propose Self-Sustained Models of Co-Creation processes for S&I, as enablers of institutional changes in the S&I ecosystem.This requires identifying the conditions under which such processes could actually emerge and thrive, which is one of the main objectives of ECOSIFU. As a starting point, we link the Integration Gap to three other gaps: - The Governance Gap, between how we try to conceive the governance of S&I and what actually happens. - The Challenge Gap, between the framework and tools we use to think and act, and the complexity of the societal challenges we face, which can be grasped if one realizes the high degree of interconnections between the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). - The Knowledge Gap, between the exploration of new scientific and technological territories and the fact that such exploration also creates new ignorance. By acknowledging the gap, we create an awareness of complexity and uncertainty as well as trans-contextuality. This is the foundation for our case studies which cover a wide spectrum of contexts. Using different cases of co-creation, we propose the new approach for implementable integration and evaluate the new outcomes. Policy implication, including Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI), will be recommended.