NanoDiode – De Proeffabriek

DPF was previously involved in the NanoDiode project. From July 2013 to December 2015, this EU-funded project organised a wide range of outreach and dialogue activities to support the responsible development of nanotechnologies in Europe. NanoDiode explored the added value of engagement activities at all levels of the research and innovation process: from policy making and research to the diffusion of research outcomes in society. The consortium brought together a range of stakeholders including industry, civil society organisations, researchers from the natural and the social sciences and artists.

Different work packages addressed different levels of governance:

WP2 – INSPIRE initiated engagement and dialogue at the ‘upstream’ level of nanotechnology research policy, organising a public survey on perceptions, a school competition and a series of citizens’ dialogues on nanotechnologies;
WP3 – CREATE sought to enable processes of co-creation at the ‘midstream’ level of concrete nanotechnology research and innovation processes, organising a series of 3rd generation deliberative processes, user committees and regulatory research workshops throughout Europe;
WP4 – EDUCATE aimed to professionalise nanotechnology education and training, identifying and selecting the best tools for nanotechnology education and establishing a community of practice for safe working with nanomaterials;
WP5 – ENGAGE organised activities at the ‘downstream’ level of public communication on nanotechnologies including the NanoTube, NanoBazaar, NanoGallery and NanoSlams.

Brief summaries of all activities and outcomes are available through the NanoDiode project fact sheets.

Integrating societal considerations in nanotechnology risk governance

During the 9th Nano Conference on 13 Nov 2020, Daan Schuurbiers argued that the effective integration of societal considerations is an essential condition for the success of the nanotechnology risk governance framework that is currently being developed by three NMBP-13 projects: NANORIGO, Gov4Nano and RiskGONE. The transcript of that talk is here: Integrating societal considerations in nanotechnology risk governance (pdf on Zenodo).

Learning from Safer Chemicals for Safe-by-Design?

From August 2018 – March 2019, DPF has carried out a short-term research project commissioned by The National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) on safer chemicals. This brief exploration of ‘the world of safer chemicals’ was a follow-up of an earlier study by DPF that looked into green chemisty, and complements the findings of a study on substitution by Kees Le Blansch of Bureau KLB. The final report: Learning from Safer Chemicals for Safe-by-Design? (pdf, in Dutch) presents the research findings and provides suggestions to strengthen the role of Safe-by-Design in research and innovation policy.

GoNano

DPF is a partner in the EU-funded GoNano project. GoNano enables co-creation between citizens, civil society organisations, industry, researchers and policy makers across Europe to align future nanotechnologies with societal needs and concerns. GoNano aims to demonstrate how researchers can work with publics and professional stakeholders to create novel suggestions for future nanotechnology products. The project started in September 2017 and will run for three years.

DPF leads the co-creation activities with professional stakeholders and supports project communication. We will also contribute to the review of the state of the art in co-creation, training activities and policy outreach.

For more information, see: gonano-project.eu.