Shopping for science

There's a really interesting upcoming conference in Belfast which will be looking at the whole area of Science Shops which are described on Wikipedia as...

"A science shop is a facility, often attached to a specific department of a university or an NGO, that provides independent participatory research support in response to concerns experienced by civil society. It's a demand-driven and bottom-up approach to research. Their work can be described as community-based research (CBR)."

And here's an overview of the conference itself...

Living Knowledge Conference 2009

Engaged Communities, Engaged Universities

Developing policy and practice in participatory research

Queen’s University Belfast 27 – 29 August 2009

This conference will provide an opportunity for policy makers, academics and civil society organisations to consider current practice and future opportunities in the field of research partnerships.

Living Knowledge 2009 will bring together some of the key thinkers and practitioners in the area of community based research, university/community partnerships and Science Shops. The conference aims to provide opportunities for collaborations and to ensure that this area of work is prioritised on policy agendas both nationally and internationally.

Themes

· Engaging students in community based research

· Planning for demographic change

· Science shops, sustainable development and climate change

· Knowledge exchange, transfer or exploitation?

· Sustaining Community Based Research practice through arts and cultural forms

· Critical reflections on community engagement in the natural sciences,

technology and innovation

For further information, please check the Conference website www.livingknowledge2009.org or email the conference organisers at livingknowledge2009@qub.ac.uk

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