Horizon Europe (HORIZON.4.2 – Reforming and enhancing the European R&I System)
01/01/2024 – 31/12/2026 (36 months)
In today’s rapidly changing global economy, knowledge valorisation has become increasingly important. It is crucial for driving economic growth and job creation, addressing societal challenges, and maximising the impact of public investment in research and innovation. However, the role of citizens, local communities and civil society in knowledge valorisation remains limited and are rarely involved beyond the role of end users or testers at the very end of innovation pathways.
CO-VALUE strengthens society’s role in knowledge valorisation by adopting a co-valorisation approach: engaging citizens and societal actors alongside research, industry, and policy so that research results translate into practical solutions. The project directly puts into practice the EU Code of Practice on Citizen Engagement for Knowledge Valorisation, addressing a major gap: society is still too rarely involved in how research results are taken up and transformed into innovation.
Through mobilisation, local experimentation, and capacity-building, CO-VALUE embeds citizen engagement in valorisation processes. A unique feature of the project is the opportunity to experiment with start-ups and innovation projects, which often face strong market pressures and are not accustomed to connecting their activities with broader societal expectations. Pilot activities in Alicante (ES) and Emilia-Romagna (IT) provide living contexts where these new approaches are tested and scaled.
Stickydot coordinates the CO-VALUE consortium and drives the project’s participatory dimension. Our role is to steer the methodological design, set up and run capacity-building and peer-learning activities, and ensure that experimentation. generates transferable lessons for the wider European Research Area. Our core aim is to ensure that methods of co-valorisation are not only designed on paper but tested and refined in practice. We guide co-valorisation experiments in Alicante’s Science Park (Spain), making sure they respond to real local needs while generating insights that are useful at European level.
Through this work, Stickydot is putting into practice the European Commission’s ambition to make research results work for society, by showing how local experimentation can bridge the gap between innovation ecosystems and citizens’ expectations. By curating spaces for exchange and learning across partners, we help create a shared language between innovators, start-ups and citizens, demonstrating how collaboration beyond the research and policy spheres leads to more relevant, trusted and socially responsive innovation pathways.
CO-VALUE will deliver both practical tools and real-world demonstrations of how citizen engagement can strengthen knowledge valorisation. The pilot in Alicante Science Park will provide concrete evidence of how start-ups and innovation actors can integrate societal perspectives into their business development. In parallel, experimentation in Emilia-Romagna will generate complementary lessons on regional innovation governance.
Together, these pilots will inform the development of dedicated training modules and coaching services, designed to help other actors embed co-valorisation in their own contexts. The project also invests in peer-learning and capacity-building, ensuring that experiences from the pilots translate into guidance and inspiration for universities, companies, and policymakers across Europe. By the end of the project, CO-VALUE will have demonstrated new ways to make research results more relevant, more trusted, and more impactful for society.
“It is inspiring to contribute to a scientific research environment that remains anchored in the realities and interests of a variety of individuals. Collaborating with the public takes your scientific knowledge off the beaten track and challenges you to take a creative approach to your scientific practice. Go ahead: once you try participatory research, you won’t look back!”
At Stickydot, Florence provides support on citizen science and public engagement projects. Florence has been applying participatory approaches in the fields of environment and public health for over five years. She cares deeply about making every step of a scientific research project inclusive, creative and sustainable.
