zine Our engagement with the Ocean July 2017 Four monthly issued N. 1 JULY 2017 IN THIS ISSUE

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1 July 2017 zine Our engagement with the Ocean Four monthly issued N. 1 JULY 2017 IN THIS ISSUE Is there space for the Citizen in Research and Innovation? Blue Growth Agenda and the Public Voices from Stakeholders... and more MARINAzine. Our engagement with the Ocean is the official, four-monthly issued newsletter from the Horizon 2020 MARINA Project. Each MARINAzine issue aims to deepen the analysis of one of the six dimensions of Responsible Research and Innovation when applied to marine and maritime issues, namely: Public Engagement; Gender Equality; Science Education; Open Science; Ethics, Harmonious Governance models. It is developed and compiled with contributions from the MARINA Consortium Partners and relevant stakeholders. Realized by APRE. Contacts: marina@apre.it. 1 This project has received funding from the European Union s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under GA No

2 Foreword The EU MARINA project, funded under the European Research and Innovation funding programme Horizon 2020, aims to integrate citizens visions, needs and desires into science and innovation, promoting Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) focusing on marine issues and pressures that have significant effects on the European societies. RRI is a new approach to science whereby you can effectively make your voice heard in the whole research and innovation process and share your ideas with those that develop new solutions. MARINAzine, our project newsletter has the objective to relay information on the project activities but also to take opinions and point of views of important stakeholders. The newsletter aims to convey achievements, events, policy changes on RRI addressed to the marine sector with the creation of a large community of stakeholders. The Mobilization and Mutual Learning Workshops (MML) held during the first year of the project are the main focus of this issue, focusing on the RRI dimension public engagement. These workshops are collaborative events, with an international or local scope, organized around Europe to discuss, explore, propose and network. In addition to the articles in the newsletter, more information is available on our website. Furthermore, members registered in the platform can actively participate in the discussions on the topics of the MML workshops. Knowledge was shared during the events themselves and the discussion continues in the community established in the Knowledge Sharing Platform. Therefore the MARINA team invites your organization to actively take part within the project community, to disseminate among interested actors within your network who are likely to be interested and willing to take action on Marine Research and Innovation issues. The MARINA Knowledge Sharing Platform provides you with several tools for participating and has the aim to catalyze and organize the convergence of already existing networks, communities, online platforms and services providing an online socio-technical environment that facilitates and stimulates the direct engagement of researchers, civil society organizations (CSOs), citizens, industry stakeholders, policy and decision makers, research funders and communicators for improving RRI. Therefore I invite you to check-out this our first issue, proudly compiled with contribution by our MARINA Partners; to get in touch with us in order to work together on Responsible Marine Research and Innovation and register to the MARINA Knowledge Sharing Platform to share knowledge, extend your own community and work online. Enjoy the reading and the summer! Fernando Ferri MARINA Project Coordinator Summary Opinions 3 Is there space for the Citizen in Research and Innovation? by Xenia Schneider, XPRO Consulting 4 The benefits of public engagement in Research and Innovation by Elena Giusta, ISPRA - Italian National Institute for Environmental Protection and Research Stories 5 Wave Energy in Ireland: an industry perspective by Eoin Nicholson, Smartbay Ireland Blue Growth Agenda 6 Should the Public be engaged in the Blue Growth Agenda? by Ned Dwyer, EurOcean European Centre for Information on Marine Science and Technology Xenia Schneider, XPRO Consulting Voices from stakeholder 8 Engaging stakeholders to solve current marine challenges: the MARINA experience by Saša Reicevich and Francesca Ronchi, ISPRA - Italian National Institute for Environmental Protection and Research 9 GEOTA - Group for Studies on Spatial Planning and Environment experiencing MARINA workshop in Faro, Portugal by Tiago Garcia, EurOcean - European Centre for Information on Marine Science and Technology 10 Unlocking hidden knowledge: a young activist at MARINA Worskhop in Boulogne- sur-mer, France by Viktoria Brunner, Student at University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna and current Intern at Nausicaa MARINA Highlights 11 The Ocean Conference at a Glance by Iwona Gin, Nausicaa 2

3 Opinions Is there space for the Citizen in Research and Innovation? by Xenia Schneider, XPRO Consulting Is there a place and space for the citizen to be involved in research and innovation actions? This is an interesting question that has been considered carefully through the European Union s research and innovation efforts. Until a few years ago the ordinary citizen was the indirect receiver of scientific research and innovation actions. Researchers most of the time work in isolation and communicate with peers. Innovator companies, small and large, have done the same. However, as societal problems are so intertwined, this closed approach is neither viable nor workable. As Europe faces several societal challenges relating to its security, environmental protection, economic recovery and growth, food security, health and well-being, the citizen must have a much more central role in the decisions taken. This shift has been recognized in the western world including in the EU, where several initiatives have taken place and are taking place linking science for and with society. The MARINA project is such an example where important marine issues are being addressed to increase public engagement in defining relevant, actionable common visions and action plans among citizens, scientists, policy-makers and policy implementers and industry. Public engagement approaches bring together citizens, researchers and innovators as well as other relevant public and non-public organisations. Through dialogue and engagement, scientists and the public participate in discussions about the benefits and risks of the science and technology impacting our daily lives and our future wellbeing including environmental issues. In doing so, questions and concerns can be better understood and addressed. Furthermore, involving a wide range of interested stakeholders can connect seemingly unrelated viewpoints, with potentially far-reaching effects. Scientists and innovators can expand the reach of their work, and make it more relevant to and acceptable by society. Of course involving citizens in complex scientific matters is a challenging task where scientists must learn to translate their knowledge and know-how into an easily understood language. At the same time scientists must open their minds to think more trans-disciplinary and to see an issue from different angles. In the MARINA project we have attempted this process through a series of 17 local and 3 international workshops where citizens, scientists and other stakeholders come in the same room to discuss a hot and triggering question for society such as aquaculture, wave energy, sustainable coastal urbanization, sustainable tourism, marine pollution including micro-plastics, etc. We are testing several participatory discussion methods for achieving a common vision and a doable action-plan through open dialogue and understanding. Until now more than 500 participants in 14 European countries have participated and the results are promising given the right questions and motivations. Three of the most important conclusions that we can draw from these engagement workshops is that all actors have: Come with their own meaning, but left with an enriched and open mind; Managed to reach and agree on a common vision and concrete action-plan; Been willing to give and take, listen and comment, learn and act. The MARINA work on public engagement is continuing for two more years with the aim of highlighting the importance of public engagement in research and innovation processes. 3

4 The benefits of public engagement in Research and Innovation by Elena Giusta, ISPRA - Italian National Institute for Environmental Protection and Research We live in a very complex society characterized by many different demands, interests, challenges and actors. Perspectives, opinions, needs and concerns of all involved stakeholders must always be taken into consideration by governmental representatives and policy makers in order to take decisions which are based on a better knowledge of what is asked by our multifaceted society. Public engagement is a process that involves people in order to address issues of common importance, to solve shared problems and bring about positive social change. The great benefits of public engagement to the progress of our society were already recognized by the Chinese philosopher Confucius ( BC) when he said: Tell me, and I will forget. Show me, and I may remember. Involve me and I will understand. According to the definition provided by the EU Research and Innovation programme Horizon 2020 public engagement is about bringing on board the widest possible diversity of actors to participate in, reflect and deliberate on matters of science, research, technology and innovation. Not only for the sake of democracy and transparency, particularly due when research and innovation activities are funded by taxpayers money, but because public engagement offers many advantages. First of all, the establishment of two-way iterative and participatory multi-actor dialogues reduces the distance between citizens and public administrators and contributes to fostering mutual understanding and a more active cooperation in sharing knowledge, experiences, research and innovation results among all interested people. Furthermore, the engagement of stakeholders representing civil society associations, non-governmental organisations, industries, small and medium enterprises, business sectors, universities and research centers and public authorities makes people more aware of their responsibilities in the management of public goods and in the oversight of political and administrative processes, also increasing trust between citizens, private and public institutions. Moreover, public engagement makes the policies and strategies, developed through this interactive cooperation and jointly decided, much more effective because all societal actors are committed to achieve the proposed results by following closely the whole thematic policy cycle: definition, impact assessment, implementation and review of a strategy focused on a problem relevant for our society. To meet this very ambitious but rewarding goal a wellplanned public engagement plan should be prepared in order to provide those feedback mechanisms necessary to jointly develop policy recommendations and a shared roadmap to effectively tackle a problem of common interest. A stakeholder mapping and analysis is also needed in this plan to involve the people who can be more effective in bringing useful inputs and in taking-up potential outcomes from the participatory process put in place. This plan also helps balance the different perspectives and avoids favouring one particular group of interested people, which would introduce a strong bias in the public engagement process. Communication is also very relevant in this participatory process because transparency and timely information must be ensured to participants in all phases of their engagement. Ther is no doubt that the practice of democracy requires much more time than taking decisions alone without consulting other people, being or not experts in a certain domain. Experience shows that a collective brainstorming can be very beneficial in the development of strategies, even if the different methods used for public consultation and involvement and the number of participants may require an intensive data integration and analysis phase of the outcomes gradually provided through the different steps of a participatory process. The MARINA Knowledge Sharing Platform empowers the many stakeholders to have their say in the most societal challenges related to the sea and make their voices heard by European, national and local policy makers, offering everyone the opportunity to explore the meaning of research and innovation in the marine domain and contribute to the shaping of policy agendas. 4

5 Stories Wave Energy in Ireland: an industry perspective by Eoin Nicholson, Smartbay Ireland Throughout the duration of the MARINA project, several workshops will be organised that bring together a variety of groups to discuss marine related initiatives and to explore how Responsible Research and Innovation can be used to facilitate marine and maritime developments. The engagement of people from a range of backgrounds on important issues in society often requires a significant amount of effort, but can provide invaluable results in progressing solutions to these issues. The process of engaging a diverse set of groups and organisations requires a careful look at the marine or maritime activity in question and an understanding of the relevant stakeholders, whether this is from the general public, an industry body, researcher or government representative. To undertake effective engagement a clear message regarding the purpose of the workshop and the effectiveness and results that will be provided from it are essential. The benefits of effective public engagement are short and long term. It provides differing perspectives and creativity for discussed initiatives and can create mutual understanding allowing a wider acceptability of any discussions and outcomes. This can then enhance the relevance of these outcomes to society. At a higher level this can contribute to greater scientific literacy in society and participation in policy making and the democratic processes. The workshop topic we focused on was the wave energy industry in Ireland and the consideration of future trends and issues from an industry perspective. University College Cork ran a corresponding workshop later on the same day from the policy perspective. Topics discussed ranged from overcoming technical barriers and demonstrating performance to spatial planning and public participation. Through the workshop we undertook, the topics addressed had a range of different viewpoints among different stakeholders. Through using the Focus Group participatory method, we sub-divided the large group into smaller groups to gather opinions, stimulate conversations and provide recommendations. Having this engaged group facilitated constructive conversations that underpinned the development of a roadmap and recommendations on how to progress the topic. These views were shared and discussed and formed the basis of a report detailing the process and outputs from the workshop and final recommendations which were distributed to all attendees. These recommendations are being fed into a current review of relevant Irish policy, which will hopefully show the value of undertaking workshops and incorporating RRI to assist in the policy making process. As has been discussed above, putting effort into the how provides the support and reasoning for the why. To engage people on a topic and to progress the conversation, action or policy in that area requires effort and time, but most importantly a clear link to an actual result, or the potential to positively influence decision making; thereby, facilitating effective engagement. 5

6 Blue Growth Agenda Should the Public be engaged in the Blue Growth Agenda? by Ned Dwyer, EurOcean European Centre for Information on Marine Science and Technology and Xenia Schneider, XPRO Consulting What if there was real public engagement, where all stakeholders including citizens came together to share their opinions, concerns, knowledge and visions for their communities at the very start of a development process? This is what MARINA offers. Blue Growth is the European Union s long-term strategy to support sustainable growth in marine and maritime sectors as a whole. According to the European Commission (EC) the blue economy represents roughly 5.4 million jobs and generates a gross added value of almost 500 billion a year. When the EC launched the Blue Growth Strategy, they focussed on five economic areas which they believed offered the greatest potential for growth. These were namely: aquaculture, coastal tourism, marine biotechnology, ocean energy and seabed mining. As with every economic development there are combined societal issues (e.g. food security, raw materials, clean energy) and environmental concerns (e.g. health, well-being, environmental protection, pollution) to be addressed that are crucial for the future of our society at large and the planet itself. All of these issues affect us as citizens and consumers. When you go to a restaurant, is the fish wild or from aquaculture? If aquaculture, how is it impacting the environment and your own health? Last time you visited the beach, did you leave a mark? How do the tourism services and constructions around the beach impact on other users of the beach area, the environment and the marine cultural heritage? If deep-sea mining starts in the deep and dark world that we still know little about, just to serve multinationals for extracting cobalt, nickel, copper, iron, manganese and other rare metals, how does it benefit wider society and what are the environmental consequences? The choices that are made in terms of further developing all these areas have numerous impacts across a range of issues such as environmental, well-being and health, economic growth and national and international governance. Often we feel that we have no power to influence the decisions that are made. Perhaps a public consultation is held regarding the installation of an off-shore windfarm or the construction of a set of holiday chalets, but we find out at the last minute about the consultation or the authorities make it difficult for us to access the relevant information, which would help us to have an informed opinion. Statutory processes for public consultation exist in most countries nowadays, but often we have the impression that the developers are going through the motions. They follow the legal requirements but often lack the desire for real public engagement, seeing it as just one more hurdle to jump on the way to implementation of the so-called development. But does it have to be like this? What if there was real public engagement, where all stakeholders including citizens came together to share their opinions, concerns, knowledge and visions for their communities at the very start of a development process? Might this not result in better decisions, with less conflict and a stronger engagement by all actors? The European Commission has recognised this need and it has launched a mindchanging concept that includes public engagement, governance, ethics and opening science and innovation towards society and making them more accessible to citizens. Of course, this is a long-term strategy that will require a major change in the mind-sets within the thick layers of public and private administrations. Such a real public engagement in decision making is 6

7 being trialled and fostered by the MARINA project across its different partner countries through a series of face-toface workshops focussing on a local Blue Growth issue of major concern and also through its on-line Knowledge Sharing Platform, which is a virtual meeting place for people of all backgrounds to share knowledge, ideas and opinions in relation to the Blue Growth agenda. So, what have we learned from the 17 local workshops and 3 international workshops that have been organised so far by the project partners? Some key lessons include: Open dialogue shifts the mind-sets and private agendas of stakeholders towards a common vision and a common good; Citizens are actively participating, providing concrete examples of issues but also solutions; Addressed topics and concerns are not openly known and misconceptions exist that drive wrong decision making; A more open minded approach from institutions for collaboration with diverse stakeholders in other sectors is necessary to guarantee sustainable and long-term solutions; Creating a common vision and concrete measurable actions among stakeholders is possible to achieve in a very short time thereby providing value for society, the environment and the well-being of both; Dedication and sponsorship by the main actors to involve citizens in their decision-making processes helps them reach better-informed decisions. On the MARINA Knowledge Sharing Platform you will find the specific executive summaries and reports of all 17 workshops showing you the necessity of public engagement in a full range of Blue Growth issues, the value of involving society in science and innovation as well as the concrete action plans decided. The Blue Growth agenda is our agenda no matter if you live close to the sea or inland. We should all have a say in how it is developed and implemented. You can start to get involved by joining the MARINA community today. 7

8 Voices from stakeholders Engaging stakeholders to solve current marine challenges: the MARINA experience by Saša Reicevich and Francesca Ronchi, ISPRA - Italian National Institute for Environmental Protection and Research Public engagement in solving societal issues relevant to H2020 marine challenges is a central approach of the MARINA project. To date, several activities focusing on Stakeholder Dialogue and Citizen Awareness have been carried out by the project partners in 2016 and 2017, both at local (national) and international levels, and a second round of these activities is foreseen in Fourteen partners of the MARINA consortium and four associated partners organized local Mobilization and Mutual Learning (MML) workshops in 12 different countries: Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, France, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain and Turkey. These activities directly involved 419 citizens including, among others: 81 citizens, 66 local, national and international policy makers, 65 business representatives, 104 scientists, 58 representatives of NGOs and CSOs, 24 students and 4 journalists. Moreover, about 3 hundred stakeholders followed the activities in live streaming. Additionally, three international MML workshops have been organized by three MARINA partners this year in Italy, France and Denmark. The fourth one is expected in Ireland in October. They involved about 80 stakeholders from local to European levels. Each MML workshop addressed a single hot topic relating a specific marine societal challenge to Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) and explored, through participative methodologies, how the RRI dimensions might contribute to solve it. The range of topics varied from marine pollution and litter, sustainable fishing and aquaculture, sustainable coastal tourism to marine renewable energy and urban planning in coastal areas. The international MML workshops, stemming from the results of the local workshops and linking to the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, the international theme of 2017, focused on how Responsible Research and Innovation could contribute to implementing sustainable tourism and sustainable development goals, while addressing four different marine aspects: sea pressures and marine environmental status, management of marine living resources and sustainable seafood, uses and urbanization of coastal areas and sustainable energy sources. In order to foster the fruitful engagement of so many different stakeholders, participative methods of dialogue were adopted, allowing the participants to share ideas, resolve divergences, integrate opinions and perceptions, and create a consensus around a potential roadmap, the implementation of which would foster the solution of the issues identified within the hot topic. MARINA partners are currently working on workshop reports and executive summaries. The individual results of the workshops are already available on the MARINA platform ( They will be also collated and summarised in a single report which will be used for further engagement of RRI communities and will be shared with relevant European Union, national and local policy makers. The results of national and international MML workshops will be presented in our next newsletter, so stay tuned for MARINA project activities! 8

9 GEOTA - Group for Studies on Spatial Planning and Environment experiencing MARINA workshop in Faro, Portugal After MARINA Mobilisation and Mutual Learning (MML) Workshop Sun, sand and safety! How long will we have beaches? held in Faro, Portugal on January 21st 2017, our teammate Tiago Garcia, from EurOcean had a chat with Marlene Marques. Here are the outcomes. Q. According to your experience, to what extent have the MARINA workshop and its knowledge products been successful in strengthening the linkage between policy, RRI and citizen awareness? A. GEOTA only participated in one workshop but we believe it was very valuable. Our participation in the MARINA workshop served to corroborate what we defended in our organization: the discussion within interdisciplinary groups involving the academy and different stakeholders leads to better policies and programs and that benefits the implementation and development of actions. Q. Has the information obtained through the workshop somehow produced an impact on your organization activities? Marlene Marques is the president of GEOTA (Grupo de Estudos de Ordenamento do Território e Ambiente Group for Studies on Spatial Planning and Environment), one of the oldest and most famous environmental NGOs operating in Portugal. Like one of the most respected Portuguese coastal researchers said in the GEOTA annual seminar To do one event to promote ocean conservancy is easy; to keep doing it for 27 years is remarkable. A. It is still not very noticeable but we feel it was important in terms of networking as we got to meet new partners and stakeholders in a closer and less institutional way. Also, we loved the World café methodology and decided to start using it in our own events. For example, at the end of the Coastwatch Annual Seminar held on July 6, 7 and 8, 2017, this methodology was applied to discuss how much are the current Portuguese training and educational programs contributing to the sustainability of the ocean. We therefore consider our participation in this first year of MARINA to be useful and we will continue to apply the experience and knowledge that we got with it. Q. To what extent have you managed to network with or to mobilise other stakeholders after the MARINA workshop? A. I personally tried to make the most of my participation in the workshop to disseminate information about GEOTA s activities on the coast, the sea and sustainable tourism, and to make contacts with new partners. In fact we got in touch with some of the participants. We contacted AIHSA the Algarve Association of Tourism Entrepreneurs - to exchange views on the concerns and involvement of the sector in the Algarve coast and the internalization of the sustainable development of tourism. Q. Did you enjoy the MARINA workshop? A. Absolutely! It was very well organized. The hosts were of great friendliness. The schedules were scrupulously followed. We took the most out of the time we spent together. The keynote speakers were very well chosen and the presentation timings were adequate. The do it in an 19th century café was inspiring. Logistic-wise it was perfect as we had excellent accessibility by public transportation. Even the lunch provided was very well chosen. GEOTA coordinates the Coastwatch Portugal initiative, which is a project based on coastal citizen science. The 27th annual campaign of the project has been underway this year under the theme Sustainable Tourism. Among the partners involved: the Lisbon Oceanarium, several municipalities, schools, the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Education, a large group of citizens, many environmental NGOs like Azorica, Oikos Leiria, Quercus, the LPN, the Portuguese Body of Scouts among others. GEOTA participated in the requalification of the landmark cliff of the beach at Praia do Telheiro, near Vila do Bispo in the southwest of Portugal, which is one the most relevant geo-monuments of the Portuguese coast. GEOTA is also part of the PASC-Casa da Cidadania Sea Cluster which aims at improving the engagement of citizens in marine-related discussions. Finally, GEOTA has supported the preparation of the MAR program of the Portuguese Association of Navy Retired Military whose objective is to work on ocean literacy from pre-school to secondary education. More info on GEOTA 9

10 Unlocking hidden knowledge: a young activist at MARINA Worskhop in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France by Viktoria Brunner, Student at University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna and current Intern at Nausicaa Researchers, entrepreneurs, teachers, translators and concerned citizens came to Nausicaa, an aquarium and coordinator of the programme Mr. Goodfish about sustainable seafood consumption. Boulogne-sur-Mer is France s leading fishing port and Europe s leading port for processing and, moreover, 2017 is the International Year of Sustainable Tourism. So the workshop was called: Maritime Cuisine Meets Sustainable Tourism. The workshop s methodology implied voting on ideas that represented answers to the question: What types of Responsible Research and Innovation actions should be put in place so that sustainable seafood production and consumption could contribute to competitive and sustainable coastal and maritime tourism in Europe? We didn t only take into account ideas that received lots of votes but also those that had potential to influence other ideas. In order to determine influence on other ideas, two ideas were compared at a time and we, the participants, discussed whether we saw an influence or not. We learned that voting can exclude influential ideas because it doesn t consider potential impacts. Different stakeholders know different things and therefore find different aspects of how one idea can influence another. That is why including a wide range of different stakeholders who explain different point of views is crucial. Some people we contacted for the workshop were reluctant to participate as they feared their level of English or expertise wasn t sufficient, the workshop method would be too demanding or the topic too complex. But participation isn t about expertise, it is about engagement and a sense of belonging. And MARINA targets everyone who is interested in marine and maritime issues. Foreign languages (in a national or technical sense), apparent lack of expertise or highly engaging workshop methods shouldn t have a deterrent effect. Communication towards potential participants should therefore be clear and encouraging. Stakeholders may possess knowledge that is unknown to others and simple communication about this knowledge can lead to major changes in decision-making. Stakeholders are not just external parts of a system it s literally they who hold in their hands everything that is at stake. 10

11 MARINA Highlights The Ocean Conference at a Glance by Iwona Gin, Nausicaa The United Nations conference Our Oceans, our future: partnering for the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14 was held from 5 to 9 June 2017 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. It was organised to support implementation of the Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG14): Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources. About 4ooo delegates from all over the world attended the event. They were Heads of State, ministers, government representatives, financial bodies, academia, research institutions, private sector, civil society and local communities. The aim of the conference was firstly to place the ocean in the centre of the political scene by presenting the SDG14 as the central component of the 2030 Agenda and by showing how it relates to all other UN Sustainable Development Goals. Secondly, it aimed at accelerating existing efforts, stimulating innovative actions that address current marine societal challenges and spurring multi-stakeholder partnerships. Consequently, the participants worked toward identifying ways to support the execution of SDG14. They shared experiences and best practices in the implementation of SDG14 across different sectors and levels. Thirdly, the conference encouraged scientific and technological innovation. Accordingly, it called for dedicating more resources to marine scientific research, interdisciplinary research, ocean and coastal observation, collection and sharing of data and knowledge, including traditional knowledge. The conference consisted of plenary meetings and partnership dialogues for official delegates and side events organised by civil society. It also hosted exhibitions about current marine challenges such as e.g. pollution by human activities and sustainable fisheries among others. On June 8 th a special event was held to celebrate World Ocean Day. The Ocean conference has had three main outcomes: Call for Action to strengthen cooperation, increase Image by Iwona Gin, Nausicaa 11

12 multi-stakeholder partnerships, improve ocean literacy and data sharing and reduce marine pollution; Voluntary commitments by governments, UN bodies, civil society, private sector, academia, scientific institutions and other stakeholders; Key messages from the partnership dialogues to facilitate knowledge and experience sharing and clarify links between SDG14 and other goals. The most significant result of the conference has been the awareness raised at the high political level about the importance of the ocean. High-level policy makers were given first-hand information enabling them to understand the ocean issues and to make informed decisions on ocean health and integrate the SDG14 into national development strategies. The conference also highlighted the need for stronger high seas governance and sustainable use of marine resources in the Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction by implementing the law as reflected in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The Ocean conference addressed the same marine societal challenges as the MARINA project giving them an international perspective and relating them to the Sustainable Development Goals and 2030 Agenda. Moreover, it connected them to high-level policy-making and showed how to bridge the marine-science policy gap that the MARINA project strives to diminish. The conference emphasised the need for independent marine research, better use and transfer of existing technologies, ocean literacy, science communication, open data sharing and stakeholder engagement and citizen science. Having endorsed Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI), the MARINA activities can contribute to satisfying these needs. Therefore, a voluntary commitment has been submitted to the UN on behalf of the project. MARINA undertook to increase the awareness of the RRI potential of policy-makers, industry, academia and society and federate them to strengthen ocean conservation actions and lead Blue Growth initiatives through governance, ethics, citizen involvement, ocean science education and gender equality. Moreover, the registry of the voluntary commitments is a source for the MARINA good practice guidelines. The Ocean conference has also been an opportunity to promote the MARINA project, by the partners XPRO Consulting and Nausicaa, on the international high-level scene and to network in view of new partnerships and initiatives. The high number of voluntary commitments (1372 up till now) is evidence of a significant impact generated by the conference. We need now to identify synergies among voluntary commitments, to carry out joint activities, to develop a plan for reporting on how the commitments are met, to enact a multi-stakeholder coordination of marine resource management and to involve land-locked and developing countries in the ocean management schemes. The Ocean conference has raised hopes for reversing the ocean s deterioration due to human activities and for ending the dichotomy between economic activities and ocean health. From waste to art: take action! During the event #plajecurate, organized by Mare Nostrum, on June 3, 2017, in Constanta, Mare Nostrum volunteers began to create an artwork of 16,000 cigarette butts, this amount being revealed in last year's monitoring of the beaches on the Romanian seaside. At the same time, a group of thirty-seven divers ventured to the bottom of the Black Sea in a complex clean-up action, collecting ten kg of waste within two hours. The clean-up activity of the underwater perimeter was an opportunity to highlight the negative effects that our actions have on the environment, but also the measures that we need to take in the future to contribute to the restoration and protection of the environment. 12

13 Public engagement in RRI by Mara Gualandi, Italian SWAFS (Science with and for Society) Horizon 2020 National Contact Point, APRE - Agency for the Promotion of European Research Public engagement (PE) involves different types of processes, where there is a distinct role for citizens and stakeholder groups to contribute to research and innovation activities. Overall, we observe that PE has become an important theme for European research and innovation activities. In many ways, it is the heart and spirit of responsible research and innovation (RRI): it opens practices of research and policy to the public and stakeholders; it involves ethical principles that highlight responsibility, gender equality, democracy, as well as effectiveness and efficiency of public decision making; it explores new ways of informing the public about prospects and risks of technoscience; it mobilises citizens capacities to address related societal challenges. By setting public engagement (PE) as a key thematic element of responsible research and innovation (RRI), the European Commission continues to promote fundamental changes in the way in which civil society and other stakeholders outside the scientific community influence and are expected to influence research activities. Ensuing challenges for the research community need to be carefully reflected. Many positive developments have occurred during the two latest Science with and for Society (SWAFS) working programmes, and most recently, supported by the EU s RRI policies. While new activities are emerging and institutional conditions for research funding and performing organizations are becoming more robust, some new questions emerge. Where and why PE innovations are needed? Innovative PE can be defined as new participatory tools and methods that have the potential to contribute to a more dynamic and responsible governance of Research & Innovation (R&I). Better understanding of innovative PE processes contributes to a better capacity to renew Research & Innovation governance. Therefore, it remains an important task to both continue inventing, innovating, testing and demonstrating new PE processes, but also develop evaluation practices that help gain insight and understanding of the successes and costs of such activities. Where this field is developing? The field of PE is developing fast and furiously through hundreds if not thousands of participatory processes oriented at R&I. Innovative PE processes are mostly initiated by nonprofit organisations such as nongovernment organisations (NGOs), unofficial networks and associations. Development occurs mostly through a broad scale of institutional collaborations, involving also research institutions, governmental agencies, foundations and think tanks, and to a lesser extent, business companies. Methodologically there has been a comprehensive turn from one-way communication processes towards multiple-way communications. Innovative PE is largely oriented towards addressing societal challenges. Methods of upstream engagement are being largely developed, especially in anticipatory projects. One of the key findings of the Marina project is that innovative PE has often had truly versatile impacts, not only on R&I but also on the environment, society, politics and individuals. 13

14 Coordinator Consortium partners