CORE: Creative outreach for resource efficiency

更有效地利用资源，即水、能源、包装、运输、原材料和废物，通过更有效地利用有限的资产和减少排放，使环境受益；它还可以共同为企业节省开支，并在国家层面上提高英国工业的盈利能力。最近，英国政府的政策和战略在支持资源效率（RE）倡议方面创造了一个阶段性的变化，强调了英国对这一领域发展的承诺。因此，可再生能源已经成为英国政府和商界的头条新闻，受到欧盟在欧洲2020战略下的可再生能源旗舰倡议的刺激，该战略为行动提供了一个长期框架（路线图）。然而，由于英国的城市垃圾回收率在欧洲仅排在第11位，而且解决材料短缺的压力越来越大，有强有力的证据表明，公众对可再生能源的参与需要进一步增加。与用户和公众以及企业的联系对于实现任何国家可再生能源目标和愿望至关重要。然而，有许多不同的“公众”，或利益相关者，因为主题领域非常广泛，复杂和高度多学科。尽管存在支持、指导和框架来吸引非学术团体参与研究，但还需要做更多的工作来激发人们对可再生能源的潜在机会的兴趣。因此，这是一个及时的机会，可以探索当前可再生能源的政策方向、交付所需的变革性研究（通过EPSRC的资源效率领域）和社会参与之间的联系。CORE（资源效率创新推广）旨在支持提供一个充满活力和创造性的推广计划，以最大限度地提高公众和用户对可再生能源的参与。这是一个推动性项目，帮助其他EPSRC支持的项目（通过EPSRC的资源效率沙坑资助）提供高影响力，世界级的科学。基本上，在整个生命周期中，核心核心项目将通过能力建设（基于现有网络和联系）的三个阶段不断循环来获得动力并扩大其范围；向目标受众传播关键成果并获得反馈；然后，接触新的参与者（学者和其他人），着眼于长期生存并赢得后续的资助项目。该项目将构思、协调和支持使用充满活力和创造性的外展机制，开展激动人心的公众和用户参与活动；组织具体的事件和活动；建立一个新的一站式网上商店，提供信息、传播和知识分享；支持有针对性地传播高质量成果；维持和发展一个健康、合议的执业社区；同时，识别并传达有关拓展、合作、企业和研究机会的新闻。CORE将努力做到充满活力、视觉化和创造性，确保学者“走出实验室”，引发公众辩论，并在他们的项目上提供世界级的参与。该项目将通过创新外展基金、跨领域主题和政策制定者活动，直接支持面向适当公众和用户群体的有价值的对外活动。合作机构将使用令人兴奋的机制（如弹出式实验室、众包、播客、社会设计和创新、亲身实践和有趣的演示以及学校活动）来鼓励对话，共同创造成果并与一系列利益相关者产生影响。该项目与EPSRC的研究主题“生活与环境变化”、“工程”和“未来制造”密切相关。CORE回应了国家和欧洲在资源效率方面的政策议程，因此将使英国在这一新兴领域的参与、共同创造以及希望建立的伙伴关系方面处于领导地位。

Being more efficient with resources, i.e. water, energy, packaging, transport, raw materials and waste, benefits the environment through more effective use of finite assets and reductions in emissions; it can also collectively deliver savings for business and, at a national level, make UK industry more profitable. Recent UK government policy and strategy has created a step-change in support for resource efficiency (RE) initiatives, underlining the UK's commitment to development in this area. As a result, RE has become a headline term within UK government and business, stimulated by the EU flagship initiative on RE under the Europe 2020 strategy, which provides a long-term framework (roadmap) for action. However, with the UK's rate of recycling of municipal waste still ranked only 11th in Europe and growing pressure to address materials' scarcity, there is strong evidence that public engagement in RE needs to be increased further. Outreach to users and the general public as well as businesses is critical to the delivery of any national RE targets and aspirations. Yet there are many different 'publics', or stakeholders, because the subject domain is extremely broad, complex and highly multi-disciplinary. Despite the presence of support, guidance and frameworks for engaging non-academic parties in research, more needs to be done to excite people about the potential opportunities that can be gleaned from RE. So, this is a timely opportunity to explore the nexus of current policy direction on RE, delivery of needed, transformative research (through the EPSRC's Resource Efficiency area) and societal engagement. CORE (Creative outreach for resource efficiency) aims to support the delivery of a vibrant and creative outreach programme to maximise public and user engagement in RE. It is an enabler project, helping other EPSRC-supported projects (funded through the EPSRC's Resource Efficiency sandpit) to deliver high-impact, world-class science. Essentially, through-life, the CORE project will gain momentum and broaden its outreach by continually cycling through a three-stage process of capacity building (based on existing networks and contacts); disseminating key results to targeted audiences and getting feedback; and then, reaching out to new participants (academics and others), with a view to long-term survival and winning subsequent funded projects. The project will ideate, coordinate and support the use of vibrant and creative outreach mechanisms for exciting public and user engagement activities; organise specific events and activities; establish a new, one-stop online shop for information, dissemination and knowledge-sharing; support the targeted dissemination of high-quality outcomes; sustain and develop a healthy, collegiate community of practice; and, identify and communicate news of outreach, collaboration, enterprise and research opportunities. CORE will strive to be vibrant, visual and creative, ensuring that academics 'get out of the lab', provoke public debate and deliver world-class engagement on their projects. This project will directly support outward-facing activities of value with appropriate public and user groups through an Innovative Outreach Fund, cross-cutting themes and policymakers' events. Partner institutions will use exciting mechanisms (such as pop-up labs, crowdsourcing, podcasts, social design and innovation, physical hands-on and fun demonstrations and schools events) to encourage dialogue, co-create outcomes and deliver impact with a range of stakeholders. This project has strong links to the EPSRC's research themes of: 'Living with Environmental Change', 'Engineering' and 'Manufacturing the Future'. CORE responds to the national and European policy agendas on resource efficiency and so will place the UK in a leadership position on engagement, co-creation and, hopefully, partnership building in this emerging area.