On November 21, the Catalan cluster of the TRANSFORM project held its final event to share the results and lessons learned acquired during these 3 years of work. Under the title “Responsible research and innovation, citizen science and public policies” more than 70 people attended the event held at the Palau Robert.

The TRANSFORM project brings together three European regions (Lombardy, Brussels-Capital and Catalonia) to experiment with different innovative participatory methodologies. The Catalan cluster has used citizen science as an instrument to move towards a greener, digital, resilient and fair socio-economic model. More specifically, two citizen science pilots have been carried out in Catalonia: one on the selective collection of waste and another on the health of women with endometriosis.

To close these three years of collaborative work, the Catalan cluster -led by Science for Change, in collaboration with the Department of Economic Strategy of the Generalitat de Catalunya and the OpenSystems research group of the University of Barcelona – has organised the final act of the TRANSFORM project at local level. One of the objectives of the Catalan cluster was to introduce the principles of responsible research and innovation (RRI) in the practice of public policies and in the Strategy for Smart Specialisation of Catalonia (RIS3CAT 2030).

The event began with a welcome and presentations by Dr Josep Perelló, leader of the OpenSystems group, and Rosa Arias, CEO of Science for Change. During their presentations, both underlined the importance and transformative potential of citizen science as a tool to improve public policies.

This introduction was followed by the round table presentations of two citizen science pilots that have been carried out in the Catalan territory with representatives of each pilot.

HEALTH PILOT

In the field of women’s health, the Catalan cluster has worked together with the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics of the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau and the Agency for Health Quality and Assessment of Catalonia (AQuAS) on the pilot about endometriosis in first person. In this collaborative research, health professionals and women with endometriosis have worked hand in hand to deepen their biopsychosocial experiences of the disease and their experiences, needs, and recommendations regarding health services.

20 women diagnosed with endometriosis participated as co-investigators, playing an active role in the data collection phases, in the formulation of recommendations and in the dissemination of the results. As a result, a policy brief has been published for decision-makers and health personnel, presenting the recommendations co-created by women for the improvement of health services in relation to endometriosis.

Dr. Elisa Llurba, Director of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Service, Dr. Ramon Rovira, coordinator of the Surgical Area, the Gynecology Oncology Area and the Endometriosis Unit of the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Marta Fonseca and Noelia Pitarque, co-investigators of the project, participated in this round table, moderated by Nora Salas Seoane, Head of the Health Area at Science for Change.

“Applying citizen science to a women’s health issue such as endometriosis has allowed us to give a voice, accompany and empower people with endometriosis who have been able to work collaboratively with health professionals towards a common goal: to make visible an under-diagnosed disease that affects 10% of women and contribute to the improvement of health services and early diagnosis thanks to its recommendations. We want to move towards a medicine that really takes into account once and for all the needs of women”

Nora Salas Seoane, Head of the Health Area at Science for Change.

WASTE PILOT

On the other hand, in the field of waste management and sustainability, the Catalan cluster has worked together with the Mollet del Vallès City Council, the Autonomous University of Barcelona and secondary schools in Mollet del Vallès to contribute to improving the municipal selective waste collection system.

For this pilot project, a digital game on waste, called “Dilemma R“, was co-designed as a tool to inform citizens about innovative selective collection systems and, in turn, collect their preferences and barriers when implementing them. In the design process, the pilot followed a participatory model, involving as many actors as possible. As proof that citizen science can have an impact on public policies, the City Council approved the new contract for cleaning public spaces and waste collection, taking into account the proposals from the pilot, which have been evaluated and incorporated into the new contract.

This round table was attended by Guifré Ortiz, Head of the Urban Services Section of the Mollet del Vallès City Council, Sandra Palma, Manager of the Mollet del Vallès Municipal Institute of Education, Myra Ronzoni, Operational Manager of the ECIU University project from the Autonomous University of Barcelona and Adrià Navarro, a student at the Sant Gervasi School, moderated by Diana Reinoso, Project Manager of the TRANSFORM project in Science for Change.

“Citizen science has allowed us to involve the public, and especially students, in improving waste management in the municipality, in addition to obtaining very relevant information for the successful implementation of innovative systems such as door-to-door or smart containers. It is a replicable project that can be used by other town halls in the same situation, that are considering making a change in the system and that want to involve citizens in the process in a dynamic and innovative way.”

Diana Reinoso, Project Manager at Science for Change.

Impact on public policies

To close the event, Tatiana Fernández, Head of the Economic Strategy Area of the Secretariat for Economic Affairs and European Funds of the Generalitat de Catalunya, shared with the attendees the role of citizen science within the framework of RIS3CAT 2030 and also its experience and learning from the TRANSFORM project.

“When we started the TRANSFORM project, we were not sure how to collaborate in it, nor did we know what citizen science would bring us. Now we have seen that it is a tool that allows us to improve the effectiveness of public policies and services”

Tatiana Fernández, Head of the Economic Strategy Area of the Secretariat for Economic Affairs and European Funds of the Generalitat de Catalunya

Finally, the participants discussed the challenges and opportunities of citizen science in Catalonia in a round table led by Tatiana Fernández, Xavier Gironès, Coordinator of the Territorial Impact of Knowledge of the Department of Research and Universities of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Xavier Ariño, Head of the Office of Institutional Projects of the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Diana Escobar, Coordinator of Projects of the Department of Science and Universities of the Barcelona City Council, Ignasi Labastida, Delegate of the Rector in Open Science of the University of Barcelona, moderated by Sergio Martínez, Secretariat for Economic Affairs and European Funds of the Department of Economy and Finance of the Generalitat de Catalunya.

Some of the key points that were discussed in this round table were: the need to establish a return to citizenship, have platforms or agents that act as a link between the different actors involved, the need to create spaces for innovation around the territory and generate a relationship of trust between the agents involved in citizen science projects.

Citizens have a key role in political decision-making and the TRANSFORM pilot project is a clear example of this. Yesterday, the Catalan cluster that has led this citizen science pilot project, presented the results and conclusions to members of the Mollet del Vallés council, to contribute to the improvement of the municipal selective waste collection system.

The TRANSFORM project brings together three European regions (Lombardy, Brussels capital and Catalonia) to experiment with different innovative participatory methodologies. Specifically, in Catalonia a citizen science pilot has been carried out in the city of Mollet del Vallès to contribute to improving the selective collection of municipal waste. The Catalan cluster has used citizen science as an instrument to move towards a greener, more digital, resilient and fairer socioeconomic model.

For this pilot project, “Dilemma R“, a digital game on waste was co-designed as a tool to inform citizens about innovative selective collection systems (smart containers and door-to-door waste collection) and, in turn, gather their preferences and barriers when implementing them. In the design process, a participatory model has been followed, based on co-design methodologies, involving the maximum number of actors involved.

This process was carried out through a total of four sessions in which different profiles of citizens of Mollet, different departments of the city council and the students of the Degree in Management of Smart and Sustainable Cities of the UAB participated. Later, the digital development of the game proceeded.

Once “Dilemma R” had been created, 60 students from four educational centres in Mollet (Institut Vicenç Plantada, Escola Sant Gervasi, Center d’Estudis Mollet and Escola Anselm Clavé) put it into practice with their families and with citizens at street level to collect enough information to process and analyse it.

Through this app, it has been possible to collect evaluations, preferences and barriers of citizens regarding innovative selective collection systems. In addition, this tool has also had a double impact: on the one hand, it has increased public awareness of these innovative waste collection systems, and on the other, it has contributed to generating active awareness of the environmental impact of waste, contributing to co-responsibility.

With the “Dilemma R” game, 402 valid responses from the citizens of Mollet have been collected; The results make it possible to identify trends that serve as a guide for the city council in making decisions on how to implement a new waste collection system.

As a result of these answers, a results report has been prepared that has included the recommendations made both by the professional research team and by the Mollet students themselves. 10 conclusions stand out:

Degree of knowledge of citizens about the waste collection system

Knowledge about innovative systems is low and knowledge about the current selective collection system does not reach 50%.
The vast majority of people who have declared they have no prior knowledge on the subject, have acquired it through Dilemma R.

General preference of citizens for smart containers or for the door-to-door system

The vast majority of people surveyed have opted for smart containers.
As an exception, in the Santa Rosa neighbourhood, the preference for door-to-door delivery and smart containers is very similar.

Relevance that different variables may have as barriers or facilitators of the adoption of the new systems by citizens

Most of the people surveyed are sensitive to the environmental issue and in favour of receiving economic incentives for the use of new systems, despite the fact that this implies limitations to their privacy (that the city council has more information about the recycling practices of each person) or practicality (for example, time or calendar limitations when disposing of rubbish).
Economic incentives seem to have a greater potential as facilitators of the adoption of the new systems than the environmental benefit, except when faced with the possibility that the new systems generate more dirt on the street.
There is a similar number of people who choose to receive economic incentives at the individual level and at the collective or community level
Privacy limitations have not emerged as a very relevant aspect when opposed to environmental benefits, much less when opposed to economic incentives.
There are two aspects of practicality that deserve attention as possible barriers to implementation: 1) the time and calendar limitation associated with the door-to-door system; 2) the possibility that the new systems will generate more dirt on the street.
For people aged 65 or over, the complexity of using a card or a mobile phone to activate the containers appears as a more relevant barrier than having to adapt to a schedule or a calendar.

Impact on public policies of Mollet

As a result of these conclusions, the Mollet students and the professional research team involved in the project have drawn up a series of recommendations associated with the conclusions of the study. These recommendations range from the development of information and environmental education campaigns, to proposals for the implementation of economic incentives to increase the separation of waste, through the design of specific actions to support the elderly in the use of the new systems.

“Participating in this TRANSFORM pilot project has been very important for two reasons: first, to be able to know the opinion of our citizens. We want to make changes to our waste management model, and we need to know what they think and what they know. Second, through citizen participation we have been able to learn about proposals raised directly by citizens, and we want to study them because they are realistic and interesting. Thanks to all this participatory process, we have been able to know what citizens want, fear or do not see clearly, in order to make better decisions at the public policy level.”

Raúl Broto, First Deputy Mayor of Mollet del Vallès

As proof that citizen science can have an impact on public policies, on June 28 the Mollet del Vallés city council approved the new contract for cleaning public space and waste collection for the next 5 years. The objective of this new contract is to intensify street cleaning and increase the selective collection of the municipality to 60% in 2030, complying with European regulations.

Some of the proposals from the pilot that have been evaluated and incorporated into the new contract for the city’s waste collection service are, for example, implementation of smart containers in some neighbourhoods of the city or the need to use additional resources to avoid littering the street due to uncivil practices.

Photo by Aleksandar Pasaric from Pexels.

21 November 2022

Palau Robert, passeig de Gràcia, 107, 08008 Barcelona, Spain

On 21st November 2022, the General Directorate for Economic Promotion, Competition and Regulation (GDEPCR) of the Regional Catalan Government (Generalitat de Catalunya), Science for Change and the research group OpenSystems of the University of Barcelona will host their final regional event to showcase the outcomes of the Catalonia regional cluster of the TRANSFORM project. This will be an opportunity to raise awareness of the transformative potential of citizen science, to share successful examples of how this methodology has improved public policy, and to present in more depth the two pilots implemented during the project: the first to increase the selective collection of municipal waste and the second to improve endometriosis care, diagnosis and support services.

Do you want to know more? Do not hesitate to register.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The TRANSFORM Catalan Cluster aims to help governments and agents involved in the Catalan R&I ecosystem incorporate citizen science methodologies in their strategies, policies and projects. For this purpose, two main activities have been developed: the creation of a Catalan Think Tank and the implementation of pilot projects in citizen science:

Waste pilot: In Mollet del Vallès, quadruple helix stakeholders – private sectors, academia, citizens and public administrations have been working together to improve the selective waste collection system, collecting preferences and opinions from citizens through an interactive waste game.
Health pilot: With the Gynecology Area of the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau and the Agency for Health Quality and Assessment of Catalonia (AQuAS) health professionals and patients with endometriosis have carried out participatory research to delve into their personal experiences with the disease, identify needs, assess services and resources for the diagnosis, care and support for patients with endometriosis and engage in the co-creation process of recommendation for better health care services and policy.

Moreover, the Catalan Think Tank brought together 55 representatives of the quadruple helix of the Catalan R&I ecosystem (regional and local public administration, universities, research centres and companies). Together these organisations learn, reflect and propose how citizen science can be a good tool to improve public policies and tackle the current social and environmental challenges.

The Catalan cluster is working towards incorporating citizen science as a means of integrating RRI into Catalonia’s RIS3CAT 2021-2027, its instruments and the actors of the Catalan R&I ecosystem.

The RIS3CAT 2030, makes an appeal for comparative agendas and transformative and responsible research and innovation as the main motors for orienting Catalonia towards a greener, digital, resilient and fairer socio-economic model.

Learn more about the Catalonia cluster here.

Older Posts

Three years of the TRANSFORM project: results and learning in the application of citizen science in Catalonia

Impact on public policies

Results and impact of the TRANSFORM citizen science pilot in the new selective waste collection system in Mollet del Vallés

Impact on public policies of Mollet

TRANSFORM CATALONIA REGIONAL CLUSTER IS HOSTING ITS FINAL REGIONAL EVENT ON 21 NOVEMBER 2022