Sciences Citoyennes is a French NGO whose main objective is to critically question the role of science and technology in the construction of a society and to democratise scientific and technological choices. It was created in 2002 and unifies citizens, partners from civil society organisations, researchers from social and natural sciences and students. Sciences Citoyennes aims at supporting and extending the current movement of democratising and reclaiming science, so that it serves the common good.
Its objectives are:
• To increase the research capacities and expertise of civil society organisations
• To foster the freedom of speech and debates in the scientific world.
• To promote the democratic elaboration of scientific and technical choices.
Its board of trustees comprises various profiles; citizens and researchers, such as agronomists, biologists, a biostatistician, chemists, an epidemiologist, geneticists, a herpetologist, a linguist, philosophers, physicists, a science historian and sociologists, as well as NGO-experts. A permanent team of five paid staff backed occasionally by fixed term contract employees, interns and volunteers implements the programmes and the decisions of the board.
Related to its first mission, which is to increase the research capacities and expertise of civil society organisations, Sciences Citoyennes is developing and structuring networks and communities of CSOs and academics to foster, enhance and improve co-creation activities and dynamics. Sciences Citoyennes is coordinating the French Speaking Science Shops Network and is involved in the international network, Living Knowledge, since its creation and even before. Thus, facilitating mutual learning and collaboration between science shops or similar organisation contribute to this mission. Therefore, in this project, Sciences Citoyennes will be in charge of the connection between the activities of the project and external organisations.
Team members
Dr. Glen Millot holds a Ph.D. in Thermodynamics. Through his activities in Sciences Citoyennes, he is currently involved in the Francophone Science Shop network and its connection with the International Science shop network (Living Knowledge). He also works, among other things, on themes such as research policy, whistleblowing and research capacities of civil society organisations via the promotion of a “Third Sector of Knowledge”. During the sixteen past years working with Sciences Citoyennes, he has consolidated skills in organizing collaboration between parties coming from different backgrounds (mainly researchers and non-researchers). He was involved in TRAMS (FP6) as a partner and in PERARES (FP7) as a WP leader and in TeRRIFICA (H2020) as a co-WP leader. He is also a WP Leader in Togetherness (2025-2028), an Erasmus+ project on Community engagement in research and learning. He published a book on science shops in January 2019: Boutiques des Sciences – La recherche à la rencontre de la demande sociale, Ed. Charles Leopold Mayer.
contact: glen.millot[at]sciencescitoyennes.org
Julie Plouhinec holds an MSc in Political Science specialising in citizen participation. She worked on coordinating the Fairville action research project (Horizon Europe) before joining Sciences Citoyennes as a project manager. Her responsibilities include working on the association’s involvement in the European Togetherness project (Erasmus+). She is also involved in Sciences Citoyennes’ participatory research activities.
contact: julie.plouhinec[at]sciencescitoyennes.org