Working with and for regions: on difference

The European Commission’s attempts to reconcile science (‘in here’) with society (‘out
there’) have created a ground swell of democratisation in European research policymaking. Accompanying this evolution is the reformulation of the action plan
‘Science and Society’ to ‘Science in Society’ in 2007, which later became ‘Science with and for Society’ (SwafS) under Horizon 2020, where participation and inclusion assume central stage as mechanisms for aligning scientific practice with ‘the needs of the real world out there’. The underlying assumption is that involving diverse sets of actors in research processes automatically ensures societal relevance and desirability of research outcomes. However, as participatory practices in research become further grounded, there are loud signals from the SwafS ecosystem network of Super_MoRRI that projects experience difficulties with regards to involving diverse stakeholders. This gives rise to an introspective question: how can participation and inclusion be achieved in the context of such diverse stakeholders?