As a project focusing on the involvement of civil society in research, it was of course essential to the CONSIDER team that civil society representatives were able to participate at all stages. This was achieved via both formal and informal channels, for example:
The Euclid Network (a network representing civil society organisations from more than 40 countries from across Europe) was a formal partner within the CONSIDER consortium. They were involved in all stages of the project, playing a key role in formulating the research direction, collecting and analysing the data, obtaining feedback throughout the project from their members and wider civil society, and in disseminating the results.
We included civil society representatives directly within our research, for example as interviewees during our case studies.
A Network of Associates was established to promote discussions, gather feedback and opinions, and create a broader awareness of the CONSIDER findings.
We ran a series of workshops across the duration of the project to obtain feedback from various civil society representatives as the project progressed.
We attended events focused on civil society activities to learn more about the situation on the ground, and to feed in our findings where appropriate.