SYNYO is an innovative company based in Vienna and structured into the divisions of research, development and consulting. Focused on “ICT & Society”, SYNYO follows a research-oriented approach, holds in-depth expertise in technical development, social research, and merges these areas successfully within applied research projects.

SYNYO is responsible for the technical development of the SciShops Web Platform as well as the overall project coordination. As the consortium leader SYNYO will be the official contact to the European Commission, will monitor and coordinate the project participants and stimulate dialogue and exchange throughout the project. SYNYO will bring its expertise in research, building modern collaborative systems from analyze, design and production. In the next stage, SYNYO will be using its projects’ results and research expertise to start and SME-based science shop.

The Handelsblatt Research Institute is an independent research institute specialized in economic research. HRI was founded in 2013 and is part of the Handelsblatt Publishing Group, Germany’s leading business media company. For more than six decades, HRI used to be the department for information and research of the Handelsblatt Publishing Group and mainly offered desk research to Handelsblatt – Germany’s most-selling business daily – and WirtschaftsWoche, a weekly business magazine. The economic and journalistic competencies gathered over the years were then combined to found the HRI.  Business Analyses are a core field of HRI’s research activities.

The University of Hohenheim provides an interconnection of world-class research and modern teaching, with its students and researchers receiving numerous prizes every year. The university cultivates international partnerships with universities and research institute in over 90 countries around the world, and is a member of the Euroleague for Life Sciences.

Due to its expertise in knowledge transfer events, UHOH will lead the work package on stakeholders’ analysis, involvement and knowledge exchange roadmap. This WP is one of the most important from all the fruition of the project and all partners will participate. UHOH will also provide support to the newly established science shop in the later stages of the project, and help the existing ones to develop their capacity.

KPMG Cyprus traces its origins back in 1948, when one of the first accounting firms on the island was established and currently employs more than 800 professionals, has close relationships with other KMPG practices in other countries and provides its clients with the whole spectrum of KPMG International services. The integrated approach of the KPMG services is based on market specialization, technology usage and international reach.

In the project, KPMG will be in charge of the establishment of new science shops and twinning them with experienced ones for effective knowledge exchange. They were assigned this role due to their strategy and management expertise. Furthermore, with the support of Sci-Co Cyprus, they will start a science shop in Cyprus.

The European Students’ Union (ESIB) is the umbrella organisation of 45 National Unions of Students (NUS) from 38 countries.The aim of ESU is to represent and promote the educational, social, economic and cultural interests of students at the European level towards all relevant bodies and in particular the European Union, Bologna Follow Up Group, Council of Europe and UNESCO. Through its members ESIB represents over 15 million students in Europe. Due to its character, ESIB is assigned the role of dissemination lead in the project. All partners will support in this work package but ESIB will have a primary role using its expertise and broad network of students and universities to communicate the project results.

The Institute of Social Innovations (SII) is a non-profit organization established in 2006. SII is striving to create, promote and implement social innovations, to research and propose new responses and solutions to the contemporary social and economic challenges. It unifies a group of excellence-driven researcher and scientists working in policy research, applied social and interdisciplinary research and various policy development projects. The institute conducts scientific research, develops and implements projects, carries out studies and expert evaluations, provides consultations for civil servants involved in policy development processes as well as for NGOs and business companies.

The Oxford Internet Institute is a social science department of the UK Higher Education Institution, the University of Oxford. OXF will start a new science shop using their expertise and they will support the development of the SciShops web platform.

The Centre for Research on Peace and Development is a multidisciplinary research center at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, which conducts conceptual, empirical and policy-oriented research with the aim of improving our understanding of the causes of violent conflicts and the challenges of sustainable peace building. It brings together researchers from within the University of Leuven with different disciplinary backgrounds, including political scientists, public management experts, anthropologists, sociologists and educational psychologists.

KU Leuven will use its expertise to start a new science shop focused on radicalization in young people. It will also assess the key use cases and science shops lifecycle scenarios.

University Politehnica of Bucharest (UPB) is the oldest, largest, and most prestigious technical university in Romania. UPB has defined strategic orientations of scientific research in relation with the concepts of “knowledge society” and “knowledge economy”. Many research projects in the top scientific field of research with which interdisciplinary characteristics have been developed by the staff members with the support of young skilled researchers. One of the main priorities of UPB was to sustain the economic and social valorization of the results of the research and development activities.

UPB will use its broad science shops network as well as other partners to set up an extensive science shops Expert and Advisory Board and to establish synergy processes with H2020/FP7 projects. Furthermore, through twinning, UPB will support the newly established science shops.

The University of Brescia (Università degli Studi di Brescia), officially established in 1982, offers a wide range of educational programmes in four areas: Economics, Law, Engineering and Medicine, including Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, PhD programmes and Schools of Specialisation.

One of our objectives is to integrate cultural and scientific areas and to collaborate with partners in the health care, economic-industrial, technological and socio-institutional fields to produce knowledge, educate the new generations and proactively participate in the progress of the city of Brescia, Italy and the world in general. The University of Brescia interacts with businesses that want to be competitive thanks to innovation based on research and with institutions that contribute in bringing social progress.

Leiden Observatory (Sterrwacht Leiden), the astronomy institute of the University of Leiden, is a leading European astronomy research department. Its Astronomy and Society Group built up a tremendous experience managing and disseminating European and global space education programs.  The observatory’s vision is to use the beauty and challenges of space to inspire children and to encourage them to develop an interest in science and technology and a sense of European and global citizenship. The expertise of the team includes the development and review or educational resources for primary and secondary schools, the development and running of teacher training, the development and maintenance of large international networks, the organization of international conferences and workshops for science education, research in science education, the coordination or participation as a partner in large European funded projects, the development and localization of various communications tools, the development and involvement in citizens science projects and open education.

The International Center for Numerical Methods in Engineering (CIMNE) is a research organization created in 1987 at the heart of the prestigious Technical University of Catalonia as a partnership between the Government of Catalonia and Technical University. The aim of CIMNI is the development of numerical methods and computational techniques for advancing knowledge and technology in engineering and applied sciences. CIMNE’s headquarters are located in Barcelona with offices in Madrid, Terrassa and Ibiza in Spain and many international offices.

The Carlos III University of Madrid is a public university founded in 1989. Its main goal is to provide specialized training in Law and Social Sciences, and Engineering, as well as to become a prime European research center. The institution pursues the creation of an innovative university and seeks to offer a University model based on a quality-oriented philosophy. In this sense, modern, flexible and multidisciplinary curricula have been designed trying to suit the scientific and technological demand of the society.

Jozef Stefan Institute (JSI) is the leading Slovenian Scientific research institute, covering a broad spectrum of basic and applied research. The staff of more than 930 people, specializes in natural sciences, life sciences and engineering. The basic goals of JSI are to provide expert scientific and applied output in the form of processes, products and consultancy, and to produce well-trained young scientists.

IJS will be in charge of a task which will explore scientific literature and best practices in the community-based participatory research. Moreover, ISJ will start a new science shop and will be twinned with an experienced one in order to receive support in the initial development.

The Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy is a non-profit limited company with about 220 staff members, which undertake research and develop models, strategies, and instruments for transitions to a sustainable development at local, national and international level. Sustainability research at the Wuppertal Institute focuses on the resources, climate and energy related challenge and their relation to economy and society. Special emphasis is put on analyzing and stimulating innovations that decouple economic growth and wealth from natural resource use. Research at the Wuppertal Institute is based on the trans-disciplinary science approach and the conceptual principles of the transition research, which form the common frame of reference. Each of the research groups focus on different research fields while passing the central phases required for the comprehension of transition processes.

Based in Stockholm, Sweden, VETENSKAP & ALLMÄNHET (Public & Science) is a non-profit association whose purpose is to promote dialogue and openness between researchers and the public. VA employ 9 members of staff and has some 80 member organizations representing research organizations, public authorities, institutes and universities, as well as companies and private associations. VA organizes many events aimed at stimulating dialogue between researchers and the wider society, and develops and tests, new formats of dialogue. It facilitates workshops and focus groups and undertakes stakeholder consultations. In addition, it serves as knowledge hub for public engagement and science communication in Sweden, dissemination knowledge and experience gained by itself and other, and developing toolkits and best practice guidelines. Citizen science is also an area in which VA has growing knowledge, especially through its annual mass experiments involving researchers and schools.

VA brings a range of expertise and experience to the SciShops project, including its knowledge of responsible research and innovation processes (RRI), which are critical to this participatory multi-actor approach. VA’s role in the project includes gathering knowledge about existing best practices and stakeholders via surveys and case studies. It will also be exploring opportunities to promote the Science Shop concept in Sweden and assisting with communications and dissemination activity.

Bay Zoltán Nonprofit Ltd (previously known as the Bay Zoltan Public Foundation) was established in 1992 as the first non-profit research organization in Hungary. Today, the company is Hungary’s largest and most successful institution for applied research. Its mission is to support the development of sustainable competitive advantage for Hungarian companies though innovation and technology transfer. Its RDI activities focus on the areas of material, laser and nanotechnology, biotechnology, ICT, environmental technologies, logistics and industrial production technologies and control engineering. The company has developed contacts with a large number of scientist, research institutions, universities, enterprises, multiplier organizations and governmental agencies in Hungary and abroad as well. BZN has extensive links with the industry, including SMEs, and the company is a strategic partner of the Hungarian Enterprise Europe Network consortium.

SciCo Cyprus is a nonprofit organization with the mission to communicate science, technology, and innovation in innovative and entertaining ways. It employs a large variety of methods and tools in order to fulfill this mission effectively: science festivals, science cafes, school competitions, and various interactive training and learning programs.  Its activities are addressed to several target groups: the general public, industry, academic institutions, NGOs, policy-makers, and the media. SciCo Cyprus will use its expertise in organising science events to organise a training event in Cyprus for Science Shop staff. Furthermore, they will support KPMG Cyprus in establishing a Science Shop in Cyprus.