ERC 2026 PERA

Expected Outcome

Up to eight prizes will be awarded under this work programme of a value of EUR 10 000 each.

Objective

With the ERC Public Engagement with Research Award, the ERC wishes to reward outstanding science communicators among its Principal Investigators who successfully engage audiences outside their domain with ERC-funded research. The purpose of award is also to recognise good practice in science communication and to encourage more ERC grantees to develop public engagement activities.

For the purposes of this prize, public engagement is defined as the involvement of the public in the design, conduct, or dissemination of activities funded by the ERC. Engagement is a two-way process, involving interaction and mutual understanding for mutual benefit.

The public engagement activities may include, for example:

• Citizen science activities conducted in collaboration or consultation with the public at any stage of the frontier research project, from design to implementation. Citizen science initiatives comprise activities such as public consultations or citizen juries.
• Public outreach activities putting the spotlight on a research topic by disseminating its content, promoting discussion, or inspiring potential future researchers. Public outreach initiatives can consist of diverse activities, such as art and science projects, educational programmes, exhibitions, and can include diverse audiences and venues such as students, schools, museums, or science festivals.
• Activities that foster consultation and exchange with citizen groups to raise awareness on a topic, to address a societal challenge, or to contribute to an issue in the public debate. These activities can be undertaken based on preliminary or final project results, as well as any particular result or output generated in the context of an ERC frontier research project. Examples of people and organisations that are likely to be engaged include journalists, policy makers at regional, national, or international level, non-governmental organisations, citizen or patient groups, product users.