News

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? How do they envisage their mobility in the near future?

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.

With the "Hydrogen-Island" (Wasserstoff-Insel) Netze BW, the largest  distribution grid operator in the German federal state of Baden-Württemberg, has started an innovative flagship project for the energy transition (Energiewende). DIALOGIK supports as a subcontractor to Netze BW with citizen information and dialogue events and reaching out to the public. The aim of the Netze BW-project is to demonstrate that hydrogen amounts of up to 30% by volume are already today technically possible in large parts of the gas supply.

The HiDALGO project invites to the “HPC and Big Data Technologies for Global Systems Interactive Workshop and Hands-on Session“.

The aim of the workshop is to attract and bring together different stakeholders from the High Performance Computing (HPC) and Big Data arena, from researchers to end users. It will take place on 21 January 2020 in Bologna in the frame of the HiPEAC conference.

Before the year 2019 comes to an end and with it the funding period of "TransformBar", we would like to take a brief look back, but also venture an outlook! Much of what was initiated in the project will continue in 2020.

In Treuenbrietzen a position for citizen participation was created and principles for citizen information and participation were passed.

The involvement of practitioners in transdisciplinary sustainability research imposes special demands on the organisation of the research process. Approaches of participatory modelling claim to improve the quality of models and simulations and the scientific knowledge gained from them by using the expertise of practitioners and stakeholders, and to increase the traceability and understanding of scientific results among the actors involved.

Join the LIV_IN project for the upcoming live webinars in october:  

Will robots care for us?

Webinar date: October 2, 2019 at 14:00 CEST

Together with TanteLouise, dutch pioneers in care robotics, LIV_IN partner SmartHomes explored in a co-creation session the usefulness and desirability of automated caregiving. Join this exciting webinar to:

With "Living Labs for Energy Transition", sustainable energy technologies could be tested under real-world conditions and on an industrial scale. Within the project initiative "H2-Wyhlen", DIALOGIK participated in a consortium led by power company Energiedienst plc which took part in an idea competition launched by German Federal Ministry for Economic Affaires and Energy (BMWi).

Which Internet of Things (IoT) solutions really improve daily life? And how can co-creation help address the needs of potential users? Find out in our webinar, hostet by the LIV_IN project:

IoT - Predictable technologies for messy lives?
July 18, 2019 at 11:00 CEST

“Nowadays, it is very difficult to live isolated and solve certain challenges individually, as their size and impact are, probably, beyond our area of influence. This is the case in Global Challenges, which is the topic addressed by HiDALGO“ states Francisco Javier Nieto (ATOS Research and Innovation), coordinator of the EU project HiDALGO in the recently published newsletter. 

As recognition of his outstanding achievements in translating science into policy taking into account the perspectives and interests of a diversity of groups and individuals, including members of the wider public, Professor Ortwin Renn, Director of DIALOGIK, has been awarded the Order of Merit of the state of Baden-Württemberg on 18 May 2019 by Prime Minister Kretschmann. The Order of Merit was awarded by Winfried Kretschmann to 18 outstanding personalities.

On June 11-12,2019, the EU-funded project “Living Innovation” (LIV_IN) hosts a Virtual Summit on Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) for Smart Homes and Smart Health. At this event, high-level experts will explore how new technologies that will affect our future daily living can be designed in an inclusive and sustainable way. The key approach pursued in LIV_IN for implementing RRI is the co-creation of new technologies between companies and citizens.

The project TransformBar celebrates three exciting and educational years in which municipal participation concepts have been tested and disseminated through local exchange events and the transfer platform Zukunftskommunen.de. The project was funded within the BMBF program "Kommunen innovativ". The municipalities of Münsingen and Treuenbrietzen cooperated with researchers from DIALOGIK, environmental psychologists from e-fect dialog evaluation consulting eG, and Georg-August-Universität Göttingen.

DIALOGIK is partner in the EU-funded project „REconciling sCience, Innovation and Precaution through the Engagement of Stakeholders” (RECIPES) that starts 1st January 2019. The project deals with the relationship of precaution and innovation and the question of how these two aspects can be reconciled. It involves in all stages of the research process actors from politics, economy, and civil society. The launching conference of RECIPES will be held on 24-25 January 2019 in Maastricht, The Netherlands.

The process of engaging citizens in the development of the Integrated Energy and Climate Protection Concept (IEKK) in the Federal State Baden-Württemberg (Germany) has been distinguished in a competition launched by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety entitled “Distinguished! Competition for exemplary citizen engagement“.

DIALOGIK is partner in the EU-funded project „HPC and Big Data Technologies for Global Systems“ (HiDALGO) that has started on 1st December 2018. The project combines data analysis, machine learning, and high performance computing for providing more effective solutions for complex global challenges, for instance regarding environmental protection, migration and in relation to communication in social media.

Bavarian industry’s education organization (Bildungswerk der Bayerischen Wirtschaft e.V.) has commissioned DIALOGIK to evaluate the „Girls” Day Academy Bavaria“. In the academy, girls from the 7th to 10th class achieve an in-depth consultation on future career choices in the areas of natural sciences and technology. The evaluation project has started on 1st November 2018.

From October 16 to 17, 2018, the first annual meeting of the project „Multi-Risk Analysis and Information System Components for the Andes Region” (RIESGOS) was held in the Earth Observation Center of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany. For almost a year the RIESGOS team (DIALOGIK is partner) has been working on research and development of scientific methods to better understand complex interactions in the context of multi-risk analysis in order to prevent future natural disasters.

The EU-funded project PROSO (coordinated by DIALOGIK) has published a Support Tool for promoting engagement of citizens and third sector actors in research and in research and innovation policy. Its main target groups are policy makers and governmental agencies, research funding organizations and research councils, research organizations, other engagement performing organizations, and third sector actors (such as civil society organizations) at national and European Union levels. These actors can make valuable contributions to promoting societal engagement in research-related processes.