The PE2020 project compounded a catalogue of 38 innovative public engagement cases in the report “Public Engagement Innovations – Catalogue of public engagement (PE) initiatives”. One of the initiatives was CIVISTI, which aimed to produce a list of new and emerging issues for European science and technology. In addition, the project’s objective was to produce a set of policy options of relevance to future European framework programmes, and base these products upon a novel and cost effective process of citizen participation supported by experts and stakeholders.
The CIVISTI method has been further implemented in an applied and downscaled format in the EU funded project CASI (Public Participation in Developing a Framework for Assessment and Management of Sustainable Innovation), which is a sister project of the PE2020. In this project, the method is used to provide research priorities and policy recommendations for the specific area of sustainable innovation.
The PE2020 project took part in the implementation of the CASI projects citizen panel meeting in Helsinki April 17th, 2015. The CASI project organized these citizen panel meetings parallel in 12 European member states (in CIVISTI in seven member states). The CASI project’s implementation differed from the initial CIVISTI method not only related to the subject but also to the time used: many in CASI participating countries organized the meeting during one day, whereas in CIVISTI the citizens were consulted for 1.5 days. In CASI, the second citizen consultation will be organized within 6 months of the first, whereas in CIVISTI the second citizen panel followed after a year. The CIVISTI also paid a small reimbursement to the participants whereas the CASI just reimbursed the travel expenses. In CASI, there will be an expert workshop organized after the first citizen panel and the second citizen panel produces the end product, whereas the CIVISTI project organized a policy workshop after the second citizen panel.
The use of the CIVISTI method to a new context and in an applied way seems to have worked out quite well. The visions that the citizens produced in the first citizen meetings can be found in www.CASI2020.eu, where the results of the expert workshop can also be found later on in June. PE2020-project will take part in the second citizen panel organized in October 2015.