The European ScienceUs project, funded by the Horizon Europe program, officially launched its "Flourish" phase at the kick-off meeting held in Marseille on June 25 and 26, 2025. This high point of the project was hosted by Aix-Marseille Université, a member of the consortium, which works to promote participatory research practices in the service of climate resilience.
ScienceUs aims to create a European network of participatory science initiatives, by identifying best practices, supporting them and encouraging their scaling-up on a European scale. The aim is to strengthen the impact of these local initiatives on major climate and societal challenges, through the active involvement of citizens, researchers, public institutions and the private sector - based on the quadruple helix model.
Led by a consortium of nine partners from seven European countries, the project is being rolled out in three support phases: Seed, Flourish and Harvest. Aix-Marseille Université plays a key role in the "Flourish" phase, contributing to the coordination of training activities, the exchange of best practices and the structuring of selected participatory science projects.
🌱 Kick-off to the Flourish phaseTwo
days of meetings and sharing brought together the five projects selected for the Flourish phase, members of the ScienceUs consortium, invited experts and local stakeholders.
Day 1: Introducing the projects and building a shared visionThe
meeting opened with a presentation of each project: its issues, challenges and ambitions for scaling up.
The topics covered - from adapting roofs to heat waves, to coastal resilience, water monitoring, mobilizing young people for climate action, reducing fuel poverty - illustrate the diversity and richness of the approaches taken by the ScienceUs community.
One of the highlights of the day was a speech byAurélie Biancarelli, Deputy Mayor of Marseille, in charge of Research, Student Life and Higher Education, who emphasized the key role of participatory science in the sustainable and inclusive transformation of urban areas.
Day 2: Collective learning and strategic planningThe
second day was devoted to practical workshops and training sessions on the tools and resources needed to scale up projects, including :
- Sophie Gachet from Observatoire des Saisons on the valorization of citizen data;
- A presentation of VERA, an OPERAS infrastructure tool;
- Maud Rebibou from CIVIS, on Open Labs and participatory research dynamics in European universities;
- Practical work on setting up the digital infrastructure of theUpscale Academy;
- A workshop on strategic stakeholder mapping;
- A lecture by Fabien Borget on the challenges of open science.
This
kick-off not only marked the start of a new phase, but also embodied the spirit of ScienceUs - a cooperative, science-fueled, action-oriented approach.
The five selected projects are now continuing their development, with enhanced support, pooled resources and strategic backing to help their innovations shine on a European scale.
Stay tuned - the Flourish adventure is just beginning!
This project has received funding from the European Union. The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Executive Agency. The European Union and the funding authority cannot be held responsible for these contents.
