Pillar II: Action Perspectives
Bridging the gap from technology to practice
Aim & motivation
This pillar aims to bring together citizens, governments, companies, and scientists, to jointly take part in exposome research and act on the results. These stakeholders currently lack knowledge about the substances in the air that people are exposed to in their daily lives, also called the air component of the exposome. This lack of knowledge makes it difficult to design effective interventions. Pillar II addresses this problem by creating ways for stakeholders to share knowledge and work together to develop and apply new tools to measure air quality.
Activities & methods
We do this by developing practical methods that engage citizens and stakeholders in the full research process, from identifying problems and developing technology to analysing data and shaping solutions. These methods include approaches for involving citizens in data collection and analysis and an annoyance notification app that helps identify threshold values for pollutants. We also develop methods that support collective decision making, such as co creating application areas, and setting guidelines for public private civic collaborations. We address ethical and societal aspects by making sure that measurements are objective, reliable and take into account public values.
Impact & role in ExpACT
By connecting designers of measurement tools with the people who actually use them in practice, we increase the trust in these tools and make them more likely to be used in real-world settings. Pillar II therefore acts as a bridge between the technology development in Pillar I and the application of the technology in different contexts in the Application Areas in Pillar III. The methods developed in this pillar encourage close collaboration between citizens and other stakeholders. This gives these groups clear action perspectives: practical steps they can take to reduce our exposure to pollutants in air.
