The University of Valencia (UV) participates as a member of the COALESCE (Coordinated Opportunities for Advanced Leadership and Engagement in Science Communication in Europe) project team, whose main objective is the creation of a European Competence Centre for Scientific Communication. COALESCE is funded with three million euros by the European Union’s Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme.
Led by the ScienceFlows team of the POLIBIENESTAR Institute, in collaboration with the Two Cultures Observatory and the Scientific Culture and Innovation Unit of the University of Valencia, this consortium will work to consolidate, develop and disseminate knowledge and connections in the field of scientific communication of the last decades. The result will be the creation of a European Competence Centre that will boost scientific communication throughout Europe. The members of the UV already held their first meeting last June and are collaborating on different initiatives and activities related to the project.
The COALESCE consortium, under the coordination of the Erasmus University Rotterdam, is made up of a diverse group of partners, including universities and SMEs committed to promoting scientific communication in Europe. This project will operate in close collaboration with scientific and journalistic networks, as well as university alliances, to achieve a measurable and sustainable long-term impact.
Carolina Moreno, main researcher of COALESCE at the UV, states: “One of the most notable aspects of COALESCE is its interdisciplinary approach, which will allow the rapid mobilisation of effective scientific communication in times of crisis, fighting misinformation and fostering trust in science”. Likewise, she explains that an accessible library of online resources, tools, manuals and training opportunities for R&D actors will be made available to the public.
This project represents the effort made by an experienced, knowledgeable and well-connected consortium in the field of scientific communication. COALESCE builds on existing forms of excellence in science communication, public engagement and co-creation practices developed from previous joint efforts. Furthermore, explains Moreno, “it will help strengthen connections between academic researchers and professionals who represent the latest trends in scientific communication in Europe”.
Ultimately, COALESCE will integrate universities and SMEs, connect participation methodologies and journalistic practices with new channels for scientific communication and work closely with the agendas of national scientific bodies. This project is supported by reference networks in scientific communication and existing university alliances such as the FORTHEM Alliance of European universities.
The University of Valencia is the only Spanish public research organisation that is part of this European consortium, together with the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT) and Science for Change, who will work together in the development of initiatives carried out in Spain. Next week the first COALESCE co-creation workshop will be held at the 2023 Congress of Social Communication of Science, which will take place in Granada.
The COALESCE project has been funded with a financial allocation of three million euros through the Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Program of the European Union, under grant agreement no. 101095230.
COALESCE website: https://coalesceproject.eu/
First COALESCE co-creation workshop: https://twitter.com/FECYT_Ciencia/status/1701575455109705901?s=20
