Last week, from September 16 to 18, T6 participated in CircEUlar’s third in-person meeting at the University of Groningen, The Netherlands. The meeting was also an occasion for us, in collaboration with University of Groningen and sister-project CircoMod, to design, plan and execute the delivery of the ‘Towards Net-Zero through a Circular Economy: the consumer and business perspectives’ Stakeholder Workshop.
Within CircEUlar – a Horizon Europe-funded project at the cutting edge of research on how to integrate circular pathways in the low-carbon transition focusing on modelling and scenarios for mobility, digitalisation and buildings & household appliances – T6 is curating the project’s communication and dissemination as well as stakeholder engagement.
Insights on Strategic Communication and Dissemination
As part of the collaborative working sessions, Katja, T6 Partner and Head of Sustainability Department, alongside IIASA colleagues, led an inspiring talk about the communication and dissemination journey from the awareness phase focusing on communication through to a strategic phase concentrating on dissemination, culminating with an impact phase spotlighting the exploitation of results. She highlighted the results achieved at this midway point when it comes to key performance indicators. Including, reaching out to the general public through the medium of linking science and art. This started with a unique collaboration within the framework of the Klima Biennale, and that will be leveraged in future efforts to enhance science communication. This synergy between art and science is a field in which T6 has developed significant expertise over the years and we are committed to capitalising on this interplay to address societal challenges and promote sustainability.
Insights on Stakeholder Engagement
Sara, Senior Researcher at T6, guided the consortium partners through a group working session on the next steps for stakeholder engagement. So far we have focused on mapping and engaging quadruple helix actors, concentrating on domain experts from research and industry, policy and decision makers, and consumer associations and civil society. The aim of this collaborative working session was to identify the key priorities for each project focus area going forward. Honing in on who to engage in terms of organisations, why so as to ensure the mutual benefits of an exchange rather than it being an extractive and unidirectional experience for stakeholders, and when as in during which upcoming activities. This exercise provides a peek into T6’s repertoire of stakeholder mapping. These discussions will continue to evolve by identifying and engaging with the main stakeholders to ensure their feedback is incorporated into the research parameters and narratives.
Towards Net-Zero through a Circular Economy: the consumer and business perspectives’ Insights from the Stakeholder Workshop
We, in collaboration with University of Groningen and sister-project CircoMod, designed, planned and executed the delivery of the ‘Towards Net-Zero through a Circular Economy: the consumer and business perspectives’ Stakeholder Workshop. Similar to the previous workshop run in Brussels, the aim was to share some research findings and collect feedback from stakeholders to make the research more practical and relevant for businesses, local government and civil society. The heterogeneous group of stakeholders, including local start-ups operating in circularity; local government; larger, more established businesses; and civil society organisations, made for very stimulating and invigorating discussions around how consumers and businesses could do more to adopt circular practices and be more supported to take up such actions. This eclectic group provided the project with some challenges, observations and insights. In T6’s experience, engaging stakeholders and incorporating their feedback is part of what turns research into real-life impact.
In addition, T6 led the facilitation of the business-focused breakout group, creating a safe space to share experiences and feedback on implementing circular practices. By staying in tune with participants’ comfort levels through observation of body language as well as propensity to contribute to the dialogue, the dynamics of the group enabled researchers to hear first-hand some of the difficulties experienced by the very organisations needed to spear-head the shift change to achieve the projected GHG emissions savings in the research scenarios. In such a setting, the ideas and discussions flowed and the group’s collective intelligence was optimised.
Living up to the name of the host venue, House of Connections, connections were made and these will, undoubtedly, further bridge the gap between the research models and their practical translation of their implications for both businesses and consumers. Stakeholders’ insights matter. They provide the practical know-how to the scientific rigour of the models. Robust stakeholder engagement and embedding their feedback into the project’s development, enables the transition from research to impact.
