D3.5: Report on TIME4CS Mentoring Programme

The current document, titled ’Report on TIME4CS Mentoring Programme’, has been developed within the framework of the TIME4CS project which is funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No 101006201. 

TIME4CS supports Research Performing Organisations (RPOs) in defining and implementing Institutional Changes aimed at a better and more effective engagement of citizens in research and innovation. The process is based on institutional “roadmaps” defined and agreed at the beginning of the project by all partners involved. Roadmaps identify specific Intervention Areas and Grounding Actions aimed at generating change within the RPO.

To facilitate this process, TIME4CS strongly relies on the collaboration and knowledge transfer between experienced institutions where Citizen Science is already established (called Front Runners (FR)), and institutions that are at an early stage of adoption (called Implementers). A substantial part of the project activities (WP2, WP3, WP5) involves exchanges among FRs and Implementers in the form of mutual learning, training, and mentoring visits, aimed at encouraging exchange of experiences and tailored support between the two groups.

This Deliverable is a report on the Mentoring Visits organized under Task 3.3 Mentoring Programme. The aim of the Visits was to illustrate and discuss the progress done by each Implementer in the respective roadmap. Each Implementer organized one such visit in its host institution, which included a one-day event on site with representatives from all Front-Runners, the project coordinators, and local actors. Mentoring Visits were also the occasion for each implementer to share specific questions and get tailored suggestions from FRs. This document reports details on the organization, agenda, participants, and key points of discussion for each of the Mentoring Visits. It also includes a few lessons learned, although details on the conclusions will be discussed in "D5.3. Final evaluation and Impact Assessment Report”.