Activities to Foster Public Engagement in Research and Innovation. Examples from the NewHoRRIzon Project

In this chapter we take results from the Horizon 2020 project, NewHoRRIzon to show that a variety of activities and approaches, addressing different levels and actors, are needed to spur public engagement in research and innovation. NewHoRRIzon spanned over all areas of the 8th European Framework Programme (Horizon 2020) and created 19 ‘Social Labs’ to look into different research and innovation themes and their relation to the concept of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI). This chapter highlights specific pilots stemming from this project which were designed by research and innovation stakeholders over the course of sequential labs, workshops, and meetings. The pilots featured here represent replicable activities and innovative ideas for researchers and research organizations to take up and use in their public engagement practices and policies

From a “half full or half empty glass” to “definitely a success”. Explorative comparison of impacts of climate assemblies in Ireland, France, Germany and Scotland

In recent years many countries, including Austria, have commissioned citizen assemblies in response to the complex issue of climate change. Based on an explorative qualitative study, this paper examines the impact of climate assemblies on policy making and looks at elements that further or impede their impact. In addition, the paper identifies several other impacts of climate assemblies such as those on deliberative democracy and quality of discourse around contentious topics. The paper compares climate assemblies in France, Germany, Ireland and Scotland

New HoRRIzon: D2.5 Actions and Activities to Realize RRI in Excellent Science

This Deliverable tells about the journey of the Social Labs from their very beginning, in which we struggled to first get an understanding of the particular Funding Line of H2020 and tried to “diagnose” its uptake of RRI, continuing with the identification of our stakeholders and our attempt to incentivize them to participate in the Social Labs. In this Deliverable, we explain which methods we used in our Social Lab Workshops to raise and discuss the question of responsibility in research and innovation and to generate ideas for Pilot Actions, which experiences we made with these group methods and, most importantly, which Pilot Actions the Social Lab participants created, developed, changed and implemented in order to realize their ambitions of RRI and a responsible research and innovation system

From a "half full or half empty glass" to "definitely a success": Explorative comparison of impacts of climate assemblies in Ireland, France, Germany and Scotland

In recent years many countries, including Austria, have commissioned citizen assemblies in response to the complex issue of climate change. Based on an explorative qualitative study, this paper examines the impact of climate assemblies on policy making and looks at elements that further or impede their impact. In addition, the paper identifies several other impacts of climate assemblies such as those on deliberative democracy and quality of discourse around contentious topics. The paper compares climate assemblies in France, Germany, Ireland and Scotland

Klimarat: Es geht um mehr als um das Klima

Der Klimarat soll Vorschläge erarbeiten, wie Österreich bis 2040 klimaneutral wird. Die Initiative ist mit Kritik an Budget und Auftragsvergabe in die Halbzeit gegangen. Das ist keine Lässlichkeit. Wie wichtig Transparenz und Vertrauen sind, zeigen internationale Beispiele

Data from: Lianas abundance is positively related with the avian acoustic community in tropical dry forests

The file includes information about the name of the forest sites where we evaluated liana abundance and the avian acoustic community at Santa Rosa National Park, Costa Rica, and also data about the number of lianas (the number of lianas divided by the number of trees observed in each plot), the total number of sounds detected in recordings, the total number of bird species detected in recordings, the Acoustic Complexity Index (ACI) generated from recordings, Tree Basal Area, Tree Canopy Height, and Plant Area Index

Lianas Abundance is Positively Related with the Avian Acoustic Community in Tropical Dry Forests

Dry forests are important sources of biodiversity where lianas are highly abundant given their ability to grow during times of drought and as a result of secondary growth processes. Lianas provide food and shelter for fauna such as birds, but there are no studies assessing the influence of liana abundance on birds in dry forests. Here we evaluate the influence of liana abundance on the avian acoustic community in the dry forests of Costa Rica at Santa Rosa National Park. We selected forest sites with different levels of liana abundance and set up automated sound recorders for data collection, analysis and estimation of the avian acoustic community. When the number of lianas increases, the avian acoustic community becomes more complex. Lianas could provide important direct and indirect resources for birds such as structure for shelter, protection, nesting and roosting, and food. The positive relationship that lianas have with birds is particularly important in dry forests where lianas are becoming highly abundant due to the level of forest disturbance and climate change, especially for some bird species that are restricted to this ecosystem. By validating the number of bird species detected in the recordings with the acoustic complexity index, we found that a higher acoustic complexity means higher species richness

Data from: Lianas abundance is positively related with the avian acoustic community in tropical dry forests

Dry forests are important sources of biodiversity where lianas are highly abundant given their ability to grow during times of drought and as a result of secondary growth processes. Lianas provide food and shelter for fauna such as birds, but there are no studies assessing the influence of liana abundance on birds in dry forests. Here we evaluate the influence of liana abundance on the avian acoustic community in the dry forests of Costa Rica at Santa Rosa National Park. We selected forest sites with different levels of liana abundance and set up automated sound recorders for data collection, analysis and estimation of the avian acoustic community. When the number of lianas increases, the avian acoustic community becomes more complex. Lianas could provide important direct and indirect resources for birds such as structure for shelter, protection, nesting and roosting, and food. The positive relationship that lianas have with birds is particularly important in dry forests where lianas are becoming highly abundant due to the level of forest disturbance and climate change, especially for some bird species that are restricted to this ecosystem. By validating the number of bird species detected in the recordings with the acoustic complexity index, we found that a higher acoustic complexity means higher species richness

Species-specific responses to targeted fertilizer application on reconstructed soils in a reclaimed upland area

Forested reclamation of oil sand mines in northern Alberta often use peat salvaged from lowland organic soils as a coversoil during soil reconstruction of man-made landforms. Previous studies suggest that planted tree seedlings may be limited in part by low phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) availability in peat. Fertilization is commonly used to treat nutrient limitations on reclamation sites; however, broad spectrum applications can induce strong competition from colonizing vegetation. This study explores the ability of a targeted application of individual macronutrients to (1) reduce nutrient deficiencies in peat coversoils and improve tree growth, while (2) minimizing the colonizing competition. Liquid fertilizer was applied to 6-yr-old aspen, pine, and spruce trees in the field using five nutrient combinations: control (no fertilizer), NPK, PK, P, and K. Tree growth, foliar nutrient concentrations, vegetation cover, and environmental parameters were monitored over two growing seasons. Aspen responded the strongest to fertilization, particularly in the P treatment, whereas pine and spruce marginally responded to NPK. Competing vegetation increased in the NPK but did not respond to the P and K treatments, indicating targeted fertilization can reduce colonizing competition. Additional analyses of the soil conditions of the site suggest that other factors were potentially more limiting to the trees during the study. Targeted fertilization of forest reclamation sites at a later stand age can be an option to improve efficacy and cost savings; however, response will also depend on other site (e.g., soil pH, precipitation, and soil water content) and management (e.g., fertilizer application rate) factors.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author