The Science, Communication and Society Studies Center (SCS-UPF) takes part in the European project CONCISE (Communication role on perception and beliefs of EU Citizens about Science), which wants to generate a debate at a European level on scientific communication. The project, led by the University of Valencia. will involve many actors, from the media and policy makers, through the scientific community and industry, and even civil society organizations. 

CONCISE aims to contribute with qualitative data of citizen consultations on the channels through which European society is informed about science, and how this information influences their opinions, beliefs and perceptions. Four specific topics will be explored: vaccines, alternative and complementary uses of medicine, genetically modified organisms and climate change. 

The SCS-UPF will be responsible for developing the theoretical framework, an evaluation of teaching in scientific communication in Europe. 

The consultations will be carried out in 5 countries (Portugal, Italy, Slovakia, Poland and Spain), and in each country 100 people will be consulted taking into account the representation of different social groups, genders, ages, educational levels, ethnic groups, diversities functional and professional careers.

The reseachers Gema Revuelta and Carolina Llorente participated in the kick-off of the project in Valencia on December 13 and 14. The SCS-UPF leads one of the main tasks of the project. In particular, it will be responsible for developing the theoretical framework, an evaluation of teaching in scientific communication in Europe, the guidelines for developing a public consultation for research purposes. On March 22, the pilot of the first public consultation will take place in Barcelona.

The other partners are ythe universities of Trnava (Slovakia) the Institute of Social Sciences of the Universidade da Lisboa (Portugal) and Lodz (Poland). Also participating are the Observa Science in Society (Italy), the Spanish Association of Scientific Communication and the companies FyG Consultores (Spain) and Danmar Computers (Poland).