Following the GoNano citizen workshop, a group of close to thirty stakeholders (mostly researchers) gathered at RMIT Europe’s offices in Barcelona to come up with new directions for research lines and activities in nanotechnology that put the citizens’ needs and values and the centre. The workshop participants first analysed the key needs and values of the citizens surrounding the themes of energy and nanotechnology, and then went on to combine these with their own ideas through a series of creative design sessions.
“I think it is fundamental to incorporate these views [values and concerns of other stakeholders, such as citizens] at early stages of the R&D process.”
[participant from the workshop]
The stakeholders’ analysis of the citizens’ needs and values was generally very positive: When asked to categorise the needs and values with respect to their importance for the development of future applications in nanotechnology and energy, the majority were judged to be either ‘essential’ or ‘ideal’ as opposed to ‘non-essential’. This not only shows that citizens are capable of providing valuable input, even to debates on topics they are unfamiliar with, but also shows that most researchers share similar values. It would have been interesting to see whether the other stakeholder groups (companies, policymakers, etc.) would have produced the same results, a view equally shared by some of the workshop participants.
“I would have liked to listen to companies and policymakers”
[participant from the workshop]
“If workshops like this were more integrated in companies’ workflows, the impact would be bigger”
[participant from the workshop]
A series of activities that could be realised through collaboration between workshop participants and other stakeholder groups were then proposed and elaborated during the afternoon. Arriving to a consensus that was both agreeable to group members and compatible with the citizens’ needs and values was not an easy task at times; however, all of the working groups managed to come up with something. The suggestions were quite diverse, which is understandable given the different make-up of the groups and that each group did not choose to address the same citizen need or value. These included policy recommendations to encourage the transfer to renewable sources of energy; plans for the development and application of next generation, low energy, autonomous sensors; ideas for new materials and sensors for smart appliances and smart homes; a “Piezo Festival” to highlight nanomaterials for piezoelectric energy harvesting; and ways to promote schools as the community hub for the communication and dissemination of green energy technologies.
The next phase of the GoNano co-creation process will put these suggestions and the other workshop outcomes back to the public via an international online consultation before allowing the stakeholders to finalise their planned activities at their final face-to-face meeting in October.
Storyboards
