From March 31 to April 1, 2025, the Düsseldorf Institute for Internet and Democracy (DIID) hosted the 5th conference of the Integrated Research Cluster at the University of Düsseldorf. Under the title “Perspectives of Open Science in a Digitalized Democracy”, the event, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), offered a platform for inter- and transdisciplinary exchange on the integration of participatory elements in research projects.
A central theme of the conference was the integration of participatory elements in research projects, particularly in the field of technology development with a focus on artificial intelligence (AI) and issues of inclusion in the context of open science. The conference provided a platform for inter- and transdisciplinary exchange and enabled a large number of scientific presentations, workshops and poster contributions.
A highlight of the conference was the keynote speech by Dr. Benedikt Fecher from “Wissenschaft im Dialog”. In his presentation, he analyzed the shifts at the boundaries between science and non-science. Fecher identified three dimensions of these boundary dynamics: the factual dimension (what?), the social dimension (who?) and the media dimension (how?). He emphasized that openness arises when non-scientific questions, actors or infrastructures are integrated into the process of knowledge production. Currently, boundary dynamics can be observed in all three dimensions, which point to a possible disruption of academic knowledge production. In the factual dimension, academia is increasingly dealing with non-scientific issues that are brought to it from outside the academic system. The media dimension shows a platformization of science, with commercially active platforms taking on a role in the communication of scientific results. In the social dimension, interaction with non-scientific stakeholders is seen as an integral part of scientific work.
The conference made it clear that open science can be shaped for an open society by researchers engaging more closely with the figurations of their research and reflecting on them. In the process of opening up, conflicts of norms and irritations become more likely, but this also offers enormous opportunities for science. The conference thus impressively demonstrated how diverse and dynamic the discussions surrounding open science and integrated research are. It offered a valuable platform for exchange between science and society and provided important impetus for the future design of integrated and participatory research processes.
We would like to thank all participants and especially Dr. Katharina Gerl and her team for the excellent organization of the conference. A detailed report on the conference with photos and videos of the keynote and final discussion can be found here.