RRI Tools

How do we ensure our growing population has access to sufficient safe and nutritious food? Will we have fertile enough land to grow food in the future? Is it possible to adapt food production to climate change?

BigPicnic aims to generate debate on all these topics and more, by bringing together the public, scientists, policy-makers and industry to help address the global challenge of food security.

The BigPicnic team involves nineteen Partner organisations, including botanic gardens, universities, a science shop, an institute for art, science and technology, and an international NGO.  Co-ordinated by Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI), BigPicnic Partners span twelve countries across Europe and one in Uganda. These Partners will use a range of travelling exhibitions, activities, science cafés and participatory events, co-created with local people, to generate dialogue and build greater understanding of food security issues.

This collaborative approach aims to give a voice to adults and young people on Responsible Research and Innovation, communicating their views to policy-makers, sharing ideas, and encouraging debate on the future of our food.

BigPicnic has seven objectives: 

1. Increase engagement with local and global food security issues through outreach exhibitions and science cafés among diverse audiences.
2. Co-create, with diverse audiences, accessible and novel mechanisms to facilitate interaction and bridge the gap between the public, policy makers and researcher.
3. Develop botanic gardens as centres that promote dialogue between public, researchers and policy makers
4. Improve the understanding and realization of Responsible Research and Innovation through the provision of best practice case studies for an RRI toolkit
5. Utilize the findings of other EU funded projects: INQUIRE, PLACES and VOICES.
6. Build the capacity of botanic gardens across Europe to develop and deliver co-creation approaches with their local and regional audiences
7. Co-develop tools for measuring the engagement of partners and co-creation teams with RRI and the benefits of the co-creation participatory approach adopted in the project.

Big Picnic Recommendations & Policy Briefs

For policy makers:

• BigPicnic policy brief 1: Food and heritage

• BigPicnic policy brief 2: Climate change

• BigPicnic policy brief 3: Sustainable food production

• BigPicnic policy brief 4: Education and food security

For informal learning sites

• BigPicnic policy brief 5: Using participatory approaches

• BigPicnic policy brief 6: Organisational development through food security

Big Picnic Recommendations (includes all 6 policy briefs)

• BigPicnic recommendations

The Big Picnic science café toolkit | helps you get started

The co-creation navigator | guides you through the different stages of co-creation, from preparation to execution

The Team-Based Inquiry practitioners’ manual

Public views and recommendations for RRI on food security