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The mega-project “Emscherumbau” in the German Ruhr area has been showing its effects for a while now: nature is returning to the urban areas, recreational paths are opening up the watercourses, and the northern Ruhr area is once again coming into focus as a region worth living in. What does this mean for the development of the region in the long turn? And how can this dynamic be successfully used for a mobility turn in the coming years?

The metropolitan region of Lima in Peru is exposed to many natural hazards such as tsunamis, earthquakes and landslides. These usually do not occur isolated, but have complex interactions and corresponding consequences (domino or cascading effects) for buildings, infrastructure and population. In risk management, the consideration of multi-risks is therefore of particular importance.

The bioeconomy as a transformation concept towards sustainability has gained key importance in science and politics. It is regarded as an important component for the transformation of modern societies into a circular economy based on renewable resources. This anthology takes up the political and scientific embedding of the bioeconomy and focuses on the interface between future shaping and sustainability shaping.

HiDALGO is a Centre of Excellence on Global Challenges funded by the EC. The project partners develop novel methods, algorithms and software for high-performance computing (HPC), high-performance data analysis (HPDA) and artificial intelligence (AI) to accurately model and simulate the complex processes, which arise in connection with major global challenges.

HiDALGO is a Centre of Excellence on Global Challenges funded by the EC. The project partners develop novel methods, algorithms and software for high-performance computing (HPC), high-performance data analysis (HPDA) and artificial intelligence (AI) to accurately model and simulate the complex processes, which arise in connection with major global challenges.

HiDALGO’s offerings are now online at https://hidalgo-project.eu/consulting

RiCoRT aims at providing a long-term SARS-CoV-2 risk communication manual, based on empirical evidence, risk communication experience and a consensus among communication experts. Effective communication will help to reduce risks to health and life and can contribute to a better health record in the current COVID-19 crisis. Two groups will be addressed in a survey and with focus group methods: Young adults (between 18 and 30) and elderly people (50-70).

The basis of an informed discourse is mediation and participation. This requires an interaction between experts and citizens where diverging beliefs, values, fears, and interests of all participants (as authorities, city planning, environmental groups, NGOs, and citizens) come to the table. The participation process must merge with the political planning process to ensure the recommendations  - as an outcome of the participation process –  matter. Success factors can be shown from international studies and various environmental conflict resolutions in Germany.

A Flu And Coronavirus Simulator (FACS) is being developed as a collaborative effort between the EU project HiDALGO and the Brunel Computer Science Department.

Using this agent-based model, which is updated on a daily basis,  allows to model the Covid-19 spread on a local level. Furthermore, the effect of public health interventions can be estimated. Such models, once verified and validated, can help to support local decision-making for an effective response to the epidemic.

Numerous EU-funded projects on Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI), amongst them the PROSO-project which was coordinated by DIALOGIK, signed a Joint Declaration subsequent to the “Pathways to Transformation” conference in June 2019. At this conference, leading RRI researchers and practitioners, together with policy makers and stakeholder organisations, discussed the state-of-the-art and future perspectives for RRI. Many of the conference participants expressed their concern about an uncertain future for RRI in the EC.

"Precaution and Innovation: Exploring Collaboratively a Significant Relationship" is the title of the first Policy Brief of the EU-project RECIPES which has recently been published and edited by DIALOGIK. The Policy Brief compiles the main findings of the RECIPES stock-taking report on the application of the precautionary principle (PP) from 2000 to 2019 and the launch of the term ‘innovation principle’ in 2013.

In the Ruhr area, a project is coming to an end that regional actors celebrate as a work of the century: the renaturation of the river Emscher, which for decades used to be an open sewer. The renaturation of the Emscher is much more than a major project in terms of wastewater treatment and natural recovery. Rather, the project is embedded in a regional development concept not least aiming at raising potentials for a mobility transition. But what do the local residents think about rebuilding the Emscher?

Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) has been promoted in recent years as a concept for aligning innovation processes with social values and needs. RRI integrates stakeholders into innovation processes to minimize potential risks and maximize market adoption as well as helping industries to innovate more responsibly and democratically. Focussing on citizens, DIALOGIK researcher Rainer Kuhn elaborates in a video interview on the criteria for a successful engagement of lay people and users.