InSPIRES: Connections that Generate Innovation – A Case Study of a European Networked Project

Abstract

InSPIRES is the acronym for the project “Ingenious Science Shops to Promote Participatory Innovation, Research, and Equity in Science”, developed with a participatory research approach, whether in their universities, research, or outreach activities. We studied the network concept that emerged from interviews with the InSPIRES project actors. We started from the links between the participants, their partnerships, and the relationships which set the tone for the functioning and interaction of a network. We aimed at discussing the conceptual understanding and sustainability of networks with the actors who were part of Project. We interviewed 10 actors, belonging to eight institutions in eight different countries, with questions based on Castells´ theory of the Network Society and Baran's approach to the different types of existing networks. We concluded that is a centralized network project and that its degree of innovation reflects the action of the same methodology in different countries, involving teaching, research and outreach activities. It created new networks, such as: the Italian Network of Science Shops and the Living Lab and the inauguration of the Ibero-American Network “Communities and Science” with the participation of partners from Argentina and Brazil, respectively the Latin American Center for Learning and Social Service and the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation.