Founded by several public agencies in 2009, the charter for engagement with society now includes eight institutions: ANSES, BRGM, Ifremer, INERIS, INRAE, IRSN, Santé publique France, and Gustave Eiffel University. Through their research, expertise, and/or scientific and technical assessment activities, they share a common goal: to improve understanding of risks and to seek ways to prevent and reduce them in response to growing public concern.

United around this charter, all the signatory institutions took the opportunity of this anniversary to gather on November 13 at the IRSN headquarters in Fontenay-aux-Roses. In the presence of their teams and representatives of civil society, they highlighted the impact of openness to society on their research, expertise, and assessment activities and reaffirmed their commitment to an open and pluralistic process in the service of public decision-making. Moderated by Ilaria Casillo, Vice President of the National Commission for Public Debate, the morning session was devoted to sharing the visions and ambitions of each of the general directorates and institutional leaderships, providing an opportunity for each to explain how the openness policy implemented has enhanced the quality of their contributions to public policy and society.

Discussions continued in the afternoon with two roundtables, one focused on civil society’s involvement in expert work and the other on participatory research. These roundtables featured presentations by pairs consisting of an expert or researcher and a civil society representative, discussing specific past or ongoing projects. More specifically, the roundtables highlighted flagship projects from the organizations:

• ANSES: Presentation of public consultation mechanisms implemented within the framework of the “Radiofrequencies and Health” Expert Dialogue Committee. Olivier MERCKEL, Head of ANSES’s Physical Agents Unit, and Sophie PELLETIER, President of Priartem and member of the “Radiofrequencies and Health” Expert Dialogue Committee.

• BRGM: ADAPTO Project: solutions to address erosion and coastal flooding in the context of accelerating climate change. Eric DAVID, Head of the “Coastal Risks and Climate Change” Unit at BRGM, and Thierry BIZET, Deputy Director of Planning at SMBS-GLP (Syndicat Mixte Baie de Somme - Grand Littoral Picard).

• Ifremer: Comparative analysis of the evolution trajectories of coastal socio-ecosystems dedicated to shellfish farming (Retroscope project). Rémi MONGRUEL, economic researcher at Ifremer, and Laurent CHAMPEAU, Director of Services at the Regional Shellfish Farming Committee in Charente-Maritime.

• INRAE: From defining the issue and its scope to the promotion and dissemination of results, including consultation during the expert assessment process. Guy RICHARD, Director of the Collective Scientific Expertise, Foresight, and Studies Department (DEPE) at INRAE, and Christophe ROTURIER – member of the Agriculture and Food Executive Board of France Nature Environnement (FNE).

• IRSN: Technical dialogues established around the application for authorization to create the Center for the Geological Storage of Radioactive Waste (Cigéo). Muriel ROCHER, Assistant in the Expertise and Modeling Unit for Storage Facilities, and Eric BASTIN, project manager in the IRSN’s Public Engagement Policy Department, along with Laetitia FAUGIERES from the Local Information and Monitoring Committee in Bure.

• Santé publique France: Study of how living conditions affect the health of Travellers in Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Stéphanie VANDENTORREN, coordinator for “social health inequalities” at Santé publique France, and Laurent EL GHOZI, President of the National Federation of Solidarity Associations for Action with Gypsies and Travellers (FNASAT).

• Gustave Eiffel University: Presentation of the different phases of the OAC - La Narse project: What can citizens engaged in territorial preservation efforts and researchers studying alternative citizen initiatives offer each other? Amina BEJI-BECHEUR, Professor of Management at Gustave Eiffel University, and Anthony MARQUE, spokesperson for the Collectif pour la Narse de Nouvialle.

A presentation by Evelyne LHOSTE (UGE/INRAE) from the EQUIPACT project opened the discussion on how to improve the quality and impact of citizen and association participation in collaborative research with a view to ecological and solidarity-based transitions. Finally, Michel Badré (Chair of the ODISCÉ Committee, IRSN), drawing on his extensive experience with public participation in expert assessments, concluded this day rich in sharing and insights.