The Principles

The Public Engagement principles serve as a guiding light for people who shape the dialogue between research and society. How do we want to approach citizens, what goal are we pursuing, and how can we get researchers to open up to dialogue with interested people? The Public Engagement principles provide answers to these questions. Through its definition, guiding values and principles of Public Engagement, it unites the community of Public Engagement practitioners in Germany.

What is Public Engagement?

Public Engagement brings research and society into dialogue and involves the public in research. Public Engagement encompasses more than "classic" science communication; it is oriented toward co-productive and bi-directional methods. Our definition of Public Engagement developed in the principles is as follows:

"Public Engagement describes a field in the German research landscape, the practice of exchange between researchers and the public, and stands for the attitude that research and society benefit from mutual interaction."

What do we need Public Engagement principles for?

In order for Public Engagement to become more widespread and professionalised in Germany, we need a fundamental cultural change in research towards participatory and dialogue-oriented research - and we want to be part of this change. This guide is an important step towards anchoring the importance of Public Engagement in the German research culture and providing researchers and practitioners with a common working basis.

How were the principles made?

The Public Engagement principles were initiated by a working group that came together at the First Steps Symposium. Since then, the Berlin School has worked with Cyber Valley and an expanding group of Public Engagement practitioners to develop the principles. The process has been steadily managed in the spirit of Open Science. In addition to regular meetings with a wide variety of groups, we hosted several virtual and public consultations. The first iteration was published in November 2022. The current version from 2023 was supplemented by principles on equity, diversity and inclusion. The Public Engagement principles are constantly being developed and interested parties are welcome to help shape it.

The Principles are a living document

For the first version of the principles, we engaged in several public consultations, including an open science process, where practitioners of Public Engagement could comment on and transform the principles. We took every input seriously. The result was a document that was completely different from the one we started with. A working group was formed during this process and was also active in the revision of the principles in 2023. We offered regular meetings and consultations as well as opportunities for asynchronous participation. To be further involved in the principles, you can join this LinkedIn group. We cordially invite everyone to participate in the process.

The Public Engagement principles serve as a guiding light for people who shape the dialogue between research and society. How do we want to approach citizens, what goal are we pursuing, and how can we get researchers to open up to dialogue with interested people? The Public Engagement principles provide answers to these questions. Through its definition, guiding values and principles of Public Engagement, it unites the community of Public Engagement practitioners in Germany.

What is Public Engagement?

Public Engagement brings research and society into dialogue and involves the public in research. Public Engagement encompasses more than "classic" science communication; it is oriented toward co-productive and bi-directional methods. Our definition of Public Engagement developed in the principles is as follows:

"Public Engagement describes a field in the German research landscape, the practice of exchange between researchers and the public, and stands for the attitude that research and society benefit from mutual interaction."

What do we need Public Engagement principles for?

In order for Public Engagement to become more widespread and professionalised in Germany, we need a fundamental cultural change in research towards participatory and dialogue-oriented research - and we want to be part of this change. This guide is an important step towards anchoring the importance of Public Engagement in the German research culture and providing researchers and practitioners with a common working basis.

How were the principles made?

The Public Engagement principles were initiated by a working group that came together at the First Steps Symposium. Since then, the Berlin School has worked with Cyber Valley and an expanding group of Public Engagement practitioners to develop the principles. The process has been steadily managed in the spirit of Open Science. In addition to regular meetings with a wide variety of groups, we hosted several virtual and public consultations. The first iteration was published in November 2022. The current version from 2023 was supplemented by principles on equity, diversity and inclusion. The Public Engagement principles are constantly being developed and interested parties are welcome to help shape it.

The Principles are a living document

For the first version of the principles, we engaged in several public consultations, including an open science process, where practitioners of Public Engagement could comment on and transform the principles. We took every input seriously. The result was a document that was completely different from the one we started with. A working group was formed during this process and was also active in the revision of the principles in 2023. We offered regular meetings and consultations as well as opportunities for asynchronous participation. To be further involved in the principles, you can join this LinkedIn group. We cordially invite everyone to participate in the process.

Page last updated: 15 Mar 2024, 12:05 PM