Sea for Society

General Description Sea for Society (SFS) engaged stakeholders, citizens and young people in an open and participatory dialogue to share knowledge, forge partnerships and empower society on issues related to the Ocean. The project used this dialogue as a launchpad for strategic cooperation, while developing and enriching the concept of the "Blue Society", a vision for how Ocean issues can be integrated within economic, environmental and cultural challenges facing society in years to come. SFS was a European Mobilisation and Mutual Learning Action Plan (MMLAP) funded by the European Commission’s DG Research & Innovation under the theme Science in Society. The multidisciplinary partnership brought together 28 partners from 12 countries representing marine research institutes, funding agencies, science museums and aquaria, CSOs, higher education institutes and business networks. This dialogue began with thorough multi-stakeholder and citizen consultation on ocean issues in Europe. Following initial research, the Sea for Society team developed a cutting-edge methodology and implemented a full-scale consultation process across 9 countries. The data was compiled and analysed in a series of reports feeding into the mobilisation process, drawing up action plans using the insight gained in the consultation.SFS then went on to mobilise marine researchers, socio-economic stakeholders, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and individual citizens and youth in a mutual learning, open dialogue to debate key societal questions related to the Ocean, extract cross-cutting issues and propose challenge-driven solutions fostering a sustainable management of marine eco-system services by European citizens. From 2012 to 2015, SFS shaped the new concept of "Blue Society" and worked to improve the governance of research related to the oceans and seas, overseen by a Blue Society Expert Group which was launched and managed throughout the project. Communication was a key element, building up to a final event launching the Blue Society concept at the European Parliament. Sea for Society represented a crucial first step for a cross-sectoral dialogue in Europe on the relation between the Ocean and citizens’ daily lives, with a wide-reaching impact far beyond the 42 months of the project. It laid foundations for future co-creation processes in support of responsible research and innovation for societal and marine challenges, for Blue Growth, and for making the Blue Society a reality. RRI FOCUS In terms of RRI, what were the main challenges addressed, and to what extent were those challenges met by the project? Expand Challenge 1 description How can the public and stakeholders be engaged on a complex, multidisciplinary and wide-ranging topic such as Ocean ecosystem services, in a way which consults them on their views and mobilises them to take action at national and European level? Expand How Challenge 1 was addressed Sea for Society conducted the biggest ever consultation of citizens, young people and stakeholders on humans' relationship with the Ocean across 9 regions of Europe, and mobilised the general public and stakeholders en masse in order to work towards the concept of a Blue Society. Expand What is the Best Practice for this Challenge? Sea for Society developed a unique consultation methodology using ‘Collective Intelligence’ – a collaborative process to help groups in dealing effectively with complex issues such as the barriers and opportunities associated with sustainable marine ecosystems. Document: Consultation Methodology Expand Name at least one Lesson Learned from this Challenge? One of the main outcomes of the consultation was that attitudes and awareness are the main barriers to achieving a Blue Society, and in order to change these attitudes and increase awareness, citizens and stakeholders must come together in mobilisation actions. Document: Consultation Outcomes PROJECT OUTCOMES RELATED TO RRI Which are the most relevant project outcomes (roadmaps, guidelines, documents, reports, articles, videos etc) in terms of RRI? Expand Outcome 1 Title Sea for Society Consultation Outcomes Expand Description The Sea for Society Consultation showed that the Barrier Theme ‘Attitudes and Awareness’ (defined as ‘unfounded attitudes and lack of awareness of marine issues’) is perceived as the single biggest obstacle to a sustainable marine ecosystem, both for the EU as a whole and across different EU regions. The second most influential Barrier Themes identified by stakeholders are ‘Governance and Strategy’ (defined as ‘responsible institutional framework strategies, policy and research for marine ecosystems’) and ‘Knowledge’ (defined as ‘inadequate scientific and general public knowledge’). The overall result is a ‘hierarchy of Barrier Themes’ which allowed the project to identify the ‘Cross Cutting Challenge’ – that is, the effort required to overcome the most influential Barrier Theme in the most effective way and, in turn, help to overcome all the Barriers below it in the hierarchy. Therefore the most important ‘Blue Society Challenge’ for the Sea for Society Project was to ‘Change Attitudes’ and ‘Improve Awareness’ around the issue of marine ecosystem services. Other key outcomes include specific stakeholder recommendations and issue reports by country. Expand Exploitable by researchers These outcomes provide direct recommendations for lines of research to be taken, and indicate the ways in which researchers can address barriers to a Blue Society directly. Expand Exploitable by policymakers These outcomes provide direct recommendations for research and governance, and indicate the ways in which policymakers can address barriers to a Blue Society directly. Expand Exploitable by other stakeholders The outcomes can be used by all stakeholders involved in Ocean issues as a guideline of how to work better together in order to address barriers to a Blue Society. Expand Outcome 2 Title Sea for Society Consultation Methodology Expand Description A Consultation Process was designed and undertaken to engage stakeholders (those directly and indirectly dependent upon the sea for their livelihoods) and Citizen-Youth (private citizens between the ages of 18 – 25 whose livelihoods did not depend on the Sea). This consultation employed the methodology of ‘Collective Intelligence’ – a collaborative process to help groups in dealing effectively with complex issues such as the barriers and opportunities associated with sustainable marine ecosystems. The scale of the Sea for Society consultation process was ground-breaking, engaging 537 individuals face-to-face in lengthy consultations in 9 countries in Europe – never before had stakeholders and citizens been engaged in dialogue on Ocean topics across Europe in this way. The outcomes of the consultations were unique and innovative because they presented, for the first time, a comprehensive and complex picture of the challenges for a Blue Society. Expand Exploitable by researchers Researchers can use the consultation methodology for engaging and informing the public and policy makers about the effects of their science on marine environments. Expand Exploitable by policymakers The consultation methodology defines a way that multi-stakeholder dialogue can inform policy at national and European level, from research policy to marine governance. Expand Exploitable by other stakeholders The outcomes can be used by all stakeholders involved in Ocean issues as a guideline of how to work better together in order to address barriers to a Blue Society. Expand Expand How Challenge 1 was addressed Sea for Society conducted the biggest ever consultation of citizens, young people and stakeholders on humans' relationship with the Ocean across 9 regions of Europe, and mobilised the general public and stakeholders en masse in order to work towards the concept of a Blue Society. Expand Challenge 2 Description Sea for Society conducted the biggest ever consultation of citizens, young people and stakeholders on humans' relationship with the Ocean across 9 regions of Europe, and mobilised the general public and stakeholders en masse in order to work towards the concept of a Blue Society. Expand How Challenge 3 was addressed Sea for Society conducted the biggest ever consultation of citizens, young people and stakeholders on humans' relationship with the Ocean across 9 regions of Europe, and mobilised the general public and stakeholders en masse in order to work towards the concept of a Blue Society. LESSONS LEARNED What unexpected RRI-related difficulties did this project encounter, and how were these overcome? The major unexpected challenge of Sea for Society was the wealth of data that the Consultation produced. By entering into dialogue with citizens and stakeholders, we produced extremely valuable content well beyond what we anticipated. The data not only provided solutions to barriers but also gave insight into policy recommendations and many interesting conclusions were drawn by comparing outcomes across geographical areas. As such, the project timeline had to be adapted to make time for additional analysis. Link to more info on the unexpected difficulties SFS Final Report (to be uploaded) How can the outcomes of this project support work towards improved marine status? This project defined the Blue Society concept in a collaborative, multi-stakeholder way, building on the work done at European level by other projects and sparking partnerships and working relationships which continue to be exploited. Link to more info on the outcomes Sea for Society POLICY RELATED LESSONS LEARNED Policy brief 1 Blue Society Policy Brief Policy brief 2 Blue Society Summary Document Policy brief 3 European Youth Parliament Declaration Policy brief 4 Blue Society Stakeholders Commitment Policy brief 5 Blue Society Citizen's Promise

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