Crisis Science Project (CRISP)

In the event of an upcoming crisis, quick responses are essential. To develop responsive strategies and emergency measures, both policymakers and scientists need to be well connected, enabling them to promptly exchange needed information and knowledge.

The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) initiated the Crisis Science Project (CRISP) to foster the dialogue and cooperation between sciences and public administration. For this purpose, a young and dedicated team of innovators  developed and tested new formats and mechanisms for scientific policy advice in autumn and winter 2021/2022. The Crisis Science Project presented its development work on the Network meeting of the BMBF on the future of the dialogue between science and politics in January 2022. A brief documentation in English is provided here. The Crisis Science Project (CRISP) was funded by the BMBF and supported by experts from the Berlin Institute for Innovation and Technology (iit).

The Crisis Science Project extends the work of the BMBF project "Research and Policy Advice for Crisis Management Covid-19". A team of experts from sciences, civil society and various units from the ministerial administration, outlined first lessons learned from the global Covid-19-pandemic:

• Methods and competencies for data exchange, data collection and data analysis need to be advanced. To this end, the University of Potsdam, in cooperation with the University of Lübeck, prepared a report on behalf of the BMBF.

• A coordination centre is needed in addition to mechanisms for a rapid and systematic crisis response. This is one of the key recommendations of a policy paper published by the Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft e.V. which was commissioned by the BMBF.

• The international exchange of information and knowledge needs to be strengthened. Crises are global, extending across sectors and systems. Communication therefore plays a pivotal role. The Leibniz Institute for Media Research (Hans-Bredow-Institute) in Hamburg published a working paper on communication in crises on behalf of the BMBF.

CRISP builds on the work of the BMBF project team as well as on the results of a number of studies by the commissioned institutes. The project brings together an interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral development team, including experts from the public administration, sciences, various innovation agencies and intermediaries. Mechanisms and structures for a responsive scientific policy advice process are scrutinised. Crisis situations and interfaces are analysed. Innovative formats and prototypes are developed and tested, and international network activities are promoted.

In a first step, the Crisis Science Project identifies challenges and requirements of the advisory process. The Design Thinking Method as well as expert interviews are being deployed to that end. In a second step, digital and realistic prototypes will be developed and tested.

• CRISP Steering Committee
• CRISP Development Team
• CRISP Sounding Board
• CRISP Project Office
• CRISP in Dialogue