ENGAGE + EQUIP — Bringing People Together and Building Skills
Research is better, and fairer, when the people it affects help shape it. Work Package 3 does two things: it ENGAGEs a wide range of people in the project, and it EQUIPs them with training and tools so they can take part meaningfully and carry the work forward themselves.
Bringing People Together — The MAP
At the center of this work package is the Multi-Stakeholder Advisory Pool (MAP). The MAP advises on the project’s direction, contributes to activities and helps share the results. Its purpose is to bring together researchers, research organisations, funders, policymakers and community groups.
People are involved through participatory methods such as co-creation workshops, sociocracy (a way of making decisions together), and participatory theatre (using drama to explore issues). The aim is for at least 300 underrepresented and marginalized researchers to take part in co-creation over the life of the project.
Researchers as partners, not just subjects. Instead of studying people from the outside, BEYOND BARRIERS invites them in to help design the questions, interpret the findings, and shape the tools.
Building Skills — Training and Videos
To turn what we learn into something people can actually use, this work package creates training that is practical, accessible, and multilingual:
- Training modules for researchers, evaluators, and HR officers on fair and inclusive practices.
- Educational videos that explain the issues and the tools in a clear, engaging way.
The project will develop accessible training for researchers, research evaluators and human resources staff to support fairer and more inclusive research practices. Accessibility stays at its core: easy-to-understand language, captions, and multilingual outputs.
What Comes Out of It
| Deliverable / milestone | What it is (in plain words) | Expected |
|---|---|---|
| D3.1 Training modules | Ready-to-use training on fair and inclusive research careers. | June 2029 |
| D3.2 Educational videos | Short videos that make the project’s ideas easy to understand and share. | August 2029 |
| MS3.1 Stakeholder map | A clear picture of who the project’s stakeholders are and how to reach them. | June 2027 |
| MS3.2 Engagement protocol | A shared plan for how to involve people respectfully and effectively. | August 2027 |
Who Leads It
This work package is led by the European Citizen Science Association (ECSA), which specializes in bringing people into research as partners. It runs from September 2026 to August 2029.