This time calls for dialogue

What does the Network Science in Dialogue do?

• Pilot 1: Dialogue training

  Within the network, we are developing an annual programme in which VU staff can register for monthly training sessions. These trainings focus on various aspects of dialogue, such as shaping constructive conversations and dealing with conflict and polarisation. The content of the training sessions is tailored to both the current expertise within the university and the relevant societal issues at the time. This allows us to design the training sessions dynamically and customised.

  The trainings are free of charge for VU employees. If you are interested in participating, please contact the coordinator, Sem Barendse, by e-mail.

• Pilot 2: Dialogue Incubator

  In the incubator programme, researchers and their teams get the opportunity to experiment with dialogue within the context of their own research. You will receive guidance, training, and a start-up fund of 3,000 euros to carry out a real 'dialogue intervention' within an academic year. During this period, all participants will regularly meet to learn from eacht other. In turn, we as the Network Science in Dialogue can learn how to best support researchers. Together, we form the beginning of a community of practice for dialogue around research at VU.

  Through five different sessions with other participants, one-on-one conversations, and your own strategic plan and reflection portfolio, you will develop your own 'dialogue intervention'. You will learn about:

  • Dialogue principles
  • Conducting a dialogue
  • Designing a dialogue
  • Facilitating a dialogue

  In October 2024, we began with a new cohort of 10 assistant professors from various faculties. Read here the stories from several sessions in Dutch:

  • Aftrap van de Dialogue Incubator!
  • Er wordt veel gelachen als wetenschappers proberen om een goed gesprek te voeren
  • Na training lukt het onderzoekers best om in gesprek te gaan

• Pilot 3: Research support

  To firmly anchor dialogue as a way of working, the Network Science in Dialogue aligns with existing services and programmes at VU. This pilot begins with staff from C&M, DURF, IXA-GO, UB, and CTL, who are exploring what is needed to support researchers in integrating dialogue into their work. This group will develop a service model, after which workshops will be organised to share knowledge and train the VU community in dialogue skills.

• Pilot 4: Dialogue Spaces

  The network is committed to creating Dialogue Spaces at VU. These are meeting places where scientists, citizens, NGOs, and other stakeholders come together to discuss complex societal issues, such as the climate crisis. In interactive sessions, they collaborate to develop a shared agenda for action and research. By facilitating dialogue, the Network Science in Dialogue brings together different perspectives, allowing space for complexity, uncertainty, and the discomfort often associated with societal change.

  Additionally, the network designs and tests creative forms of dialogue in these Dialogue Spaces, often using artistic methods. Through participatory techniques, such as storytelling and artistic imagination, the aim is to make complex scientific concepts more accessible to the public. This not only fosters new ways of thinking but also strengthens the connection between science, society, and creative disciplines.