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We Work Together

Our work is grounded in our community of research and practice within Germany and internationally. The Berlin School of Public Engagement, a project of the Public Engagement and Impact Unit (PEI) at the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, draws inspiration from the diverse research projects within the whole Unit, which we showcase here. Through our research projects and partnerships we continuously develop our expertise, learn from others and share our perspectives. Explore our projects and resources below.

Explore our Resources

Emotions Toolkit
Policy and Funding Recommendations
Public Engagement Principles

Research and Collaboration Projects

Our research takes a reflective approach that adds to the academic knowledge base on Public Engagement practice at individual, institutional, national, and global levels. We examine the barriers, benefits, strategies, policies, and outcomes of Public Engagement practice, particularly for academic stakeholders, such as researchers, research institutes, funders, and Public Engagement professionals. The outcomes of our Public Engagement research are applicable in many disciplinary and institutional contexts.

Reach out for research collaborations and partnerships

Capacities 
and Competencies in Dealing with Hate Speech and Hostility towards Science (KAPAZ)

Einstein Center
for Early Disease Interception (ECEDI)

German-South African Public Engagement Exchange (PEX)

IETI - Impact-oriented Public Engagement

Knowledge Laboratory for Natural Science Collections and Object-Centred Data (WiNoDa)

Third Mission School (TMS)

Resources and Publications

CFA Toolkit
This toolkit brings together the learning from our 2024 Collaborative Futures Academy (CFA) on the topic of Emotions in Public Engagement. CFA is an annual academy programme hosted by the Berlin School together with partners from the UK (The University of Cambridge, Wellcome Connecting Science and the Kavli Centre for Ethics, Science, and the Public) and South Africa (Stellenbosch University). Over three days, a global cohort of engaged researchers and practitioners come together online to explore a particular topic common to their work, through case studies, workshops, group sharing and personal reflection. The toolkit captures reflections and activities from this year’s academy, with the aim to share the conversation more widely. (keyword: Emotions Toolkit)
Report

In December 2022, the Berlin School of Public Engagement and Open Science, in partnership with the South African Department of Science and Innovation and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, hosted a Senior Round Table (SRT) on Public Engagement in Cape Town, South Africa.

The SRT brought together individuals operating at a senior level in Research Institution Management, Research Funding, Research Policy, and Public Engagement Support and Delivery in South Africa and Germany. The task was to discuss the status and potential of Public Engagement with research to inform future agendas for cooperation and funding between South Africa and Germany.

The output of the SRT is this report for participants and funders, which intends to inform future agendas for cooperation and funding, and provide recommendations for future activities.

The Public Engagement Principles

Our Principles for Public Engagement serve as a guiding light for people who shape the dialogue between research and society. They address key questions: How do we want to approach citizens? What are our goals? How can we encourage researchers to engage with publics effectively? These principles unite the community of Public Engagement practitioners in Germany, offering a clear framework for meaningful interaction.

Public Engagement brings research and society into dialogue and transcends traditional science communication by fostering co-productive, bi-directional methods. Our definition is:

“Public Engagement describes a field in the German research landscape, the practice of exchange between researchers and the public, and stands for the attitude that research and society benefit from mutual interaction.”

To embed Public Engagement deeply into the German research culture, a fundamental shift toward participatory and dialogue-oriented research is essential. Our Principles guide this cultural change, providing researchers and practitioners with a unified approach to enhance and professionalise Public Engagement.

The development of the Public Engagement Principles began with a working group formed at the First Steps Symposium. An expanding network of practitioners as well as the Berlin School and Cyber Valley developed the Principles. The process has been steadily managed in the spirit of Open Science. In addition to regular meetings with a wide variety of groups, we hosted several virtual and public consultations. The first iteration was published in November 2022. The current version from 2023 was supplemented by principles on equity, diversity and inclusion. This living document continues to evolve, with ongoing opportunities for input.

Our Principles are dynamic, shaped by active community involvement. Through public consultations and feedback, the Principles have transformed significantly. We invite everyone to participate in this ongoing process through our LinkedIn group and contribute to the future development of the Principles for Public Engagement. Join us in shaping the future of Public Engagement!

Impact Case Study

This resource provides an overview of key terms related to impact, including impacts, outcomes, outputs, inputs, and indicators. It introduces the Logic Model as a framework for planning, evaluating, and managing public engagement initiatives and includes a case study demonstrating its application. The document is informed by impact literature and practice and was collaboratively produced by IETI – Impact-Oriented Public Engagement and the Berlin School of Public Engagement and Open Science.

Impact Practice Paper

The main aim of this report is to present and discuss a subset of research data collected as part of the IETI Work Package 1 (see IETI website for detailed information on the work packages), which focused on mapping impact practice at the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin in relation to planning and assessing the impact of Public Engagement (PE). A survey was conducted (spring 2023) asking MfN PE staff about the impact of their PE initiatives, if and how they assess impact, while also understanding constraints and support needs regarding impact management of their PE. The report also discusses what one can learn from this research and proposes diverse potential solutions/strategies for improving institutional impact planning and assessment at the MfN.

Capacities 
and Competencies in Dealing with Hate Speech and Hostility towards Science (KAPAZ)

The project Capacities and Competencies in Dealing with Hate Speech and Hostility towards Science (KAPAZ) provides new empirical evidence on the prevalence of hostility towards scientists in Germany, and develops institutional support and infrastructure, while strengthening competencies and capacities to mitigate and deal with hostility. The challenge of hostility towards science threatens not only the integrity of research, but also the fabric of our society. Manifesting as threats, attacks, and public defamation of researchers and institutions, it endangers democratic governance by undermining scientific expertise. Working with seven institutional partners, the Berlin School contributes to implementing competence-building activities for communication professionals and individual researchers through a Train-the-Trainer programme and Summer School. VolkswagenStiftung is funding this programme.

  • 2023 - 2026

Einstein Center
for Early Disease Interception (ECEDI)

As partners in the Einstein Center for Early Disease Interception (ECEDI), we are developing and testing methodologies for collaborative, multi-sector, research innovation, public engagement, and impact. ECEDI is a unique and groundbreaking collaboration across academia, industry, policy, and society. It will prominently involve patient and citizen groups to ensure that patient insights are incorporated into cell-based interceptive medicine: from identifying research programmes to research planning and implementation. Through open, dynamic and transparent dialogue, we will develop better patient outcomes that enable more efficient and effective healthcare. We also contribute our expertise in developing engagement strategy, researcher training, and in stimulating and evidencing research impact. The outcomes will expand the knowledge base around science and society interactions applicable across multiple disciplines. The Center is funded through the Einstein Stiftung.

  • 2024- 31 December 2025 (pre-module phase) with possibility of extension

German-South African Public Engagement Exchange (PEX)

In a programme led by the Public Engagement and Impact Unit, the German-South African Public Engagement Exchange (PEX) will strengthen the impact of research and public engagement in and between Germany and South Africa. In 2025 and 2026 twenty Fellows each year will be selected from Germany and South Africa to undertake a training and innovation programme fostering PE skills and leadership. The fellowship programme will be complemented by a research component in collaboration with Stellenbosch University, South Africa. This will generate knowledge on the practice, scope, and potential of internationally implemented training and engagement methodologies. In collaboration with our innovation partner, the Hasso Plattner Institute – School of Design Thinking, PEX also addresses the subject of innovation in Public Engagement. The collaboration will develop new methods for the international implementation of public engagement in research. PEX is funded by the BMBF.

  • 2024-2027

IETI - Impact-oriented Public Engagement

IETI – Impact-oriented Public Engagement – aims to increase the quality and efficiency of the MfN’s public engagement, thereby promoting its academic, societal, and environmental impact. The project is divided into three work packages:

1. Concepts & Contexts: Focuses on mapping stakeholders and public engagement (PE) initiatives while exploring relevant concepts and frameworks.

2. Impact Planning & Assessment: Explores how MfN understands, practices, and evaluates its institutional and social impact. The goal is to develop tools for institutional self-evaluation and to promote reflexivity within institutions.

3. Culture Change & Co-creation: Examines MfN researchers’ motivations, barriers, and needs regarding PE, and explores effective integration of PE, participation, and societal needs into MfN’s research, including ways to recognize and incentivize researchers’ involvement in PE.

By the project’s end, IETI will produce research or practice outputs and recommendations to optimise MfN’s culture change and impact. Visit IETI’s website for more details. The project is funded by the BMBF.

  • 2022-2025

Knowledge Laboratory for Natural Science Collections and Object-Centred Data (WiNoDa)

The WiNoDa Knowledge Lab is a pioneering Data Competence Centre established as part of a nationwide initiative by Museum für Naturkunde Berlin and the Ministry of Education and Research. WiNoDa aims to build a dynamic and interdisciplinary community for data-driven researchers and enthusiasts, connecting natural sciences and humanities—such as archaeology, historiography, and archival science—with cutting-edge data science tools and methodologies. The project encourages researchers to investigate natural science collections and object-centred data and to disseminate the findings, some of which are application-oriented, to society. As WiNoDa’s partner, we develop and implement public engagement training and evaluation framework. The mission is to foster a self-sustaining network of professionals and enthusiasts who actively collaborate, embed data-driven research approaches, and advocate for public engagement in their projects.

With our Public Engagement activities, we help to ensure that data scientists work together with interested target groups, academic or non-academic, across their discipline. This opens up research and allows issues relevant to society to be addressed jointly.

WiNoDa_DecodingBerlin_MfN_2024-11-27 (16) (c) Kirill Tatarenkov
Mfn_WiNoDa_27.11_christineOymann_GraphicRecording_version2_final
  • 2023-2026

Third Mission School (TMS)

As practice partners in Zukunft findet Stadt – The university network for a resilient Berlin, we are establishing a “Third Mission School”, to offer a comprehensive range of further education programmes for researchers of applied sciences, in the fields of public engagement, transfer and participatory research. “Zukunft findet Stadt” brings together five Berlin universities of applied sciences with practice partners, and Berliners across disciplines and universities to co-creatively address urban challenges in the areas of climate, sustainability, health and resilience, and tests new forms of cooperation. The project aims to strengthen science-society dialogue by establishing new, sustainable transfer methods, and to pool expertise across university partners in order to make the city more resilient to crisis.

With our Third Mission School, we support researchers to engage their non-academic stakeholders through innovative transfer formats. Moreover, we offer tailored consultation to professionals to further anchor engagement in the network partner institutions, supporting culture change. The project is funded by the BMBF.

  • 2023-2027
Fb3, Natural
History Museum Berlin

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