ASSOCIACIO CATALANA DE COMUNICACIO CIENTIFICA

Their core work

ACCC is a Barcelona-based non-profit association dedicated to science communication — the professional field that bridges research institutions and the general public. Their work spans public engagement events (such as the European Researchers' Night in Catalonia), science journalism, and developing frameworks for open science communication. In EU projects they serve as the dissemination and public outreach arm, contributing communication strategy, media expertise, and audience engagement skills that most research-focused partners lack. They represent the Catalan science communication community and connect it to broader European networks.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Their first H2020 project (EuNightCat20, 2020–2021) centred on direct public engagement — bringing researchers and the general public face to face through event-based formats, with an emphasis on scientific vocations and inspiring future researchers. Their second project (ENJOI, 2021–2023) marked a shift toward the media and journalism layer of science communication, focusing on how journalism practices themselves can be reformed to serve open science. The trajectory is a clear move from event-driven outreach toward systemic reform of how science is reported and communicated.

ACCC appears to be moving from one-off engagement events toward building durable infrastructure for open and responsible science communication — a direction well-aligned with Horizon Europe's citizen science and open science priorities.

How they like to work

ACCC always joins as a consortium partner, never as coordinator — reflecting their role as a specialist contributor rather than a project driver. Their consortia are modest in size (11 unique partners across 2 projects, spread across 5 countries), suggesting they participate in tightly scoped, thematic partnerships rather than large industrial alliances. Working with them means getting a dedicated science communication expert embedded in the project, but not expecting them to manage the full consortium.

ACCC has built a small but internationally connected network of 11 partners across 5 European countries through just two projects. Their partnerships span the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions ecosystem, suggesting connections to research institutions and science communication bodies across southern and central Europe.

What sets them apart

ACCC occupies a rare niche: a professionally organised science communication association rooted in Catalonia's strong civic and scientific culture, with direct links to both EU-level public engagement programmes and the journalism/media sector. For consortium builders, they are one of very few southern European NGOs that can credibly deliver public outreach, media engagement, and science communication training as a formal project work package. Their bilingual Catalan-Spanish context also gives them access to Iberian media ecosystems that northern European partners typically cannot reach.

Highlights from their portfolio

• ENJOI
  By far their largest project (€139,875), ENJOI tackled journalism innovation for open science — an underexplored intersection that positions ACCC at the policy-relevant frontier of responsible research communication.
• EuNightCat20
  As the Catalan node of the pan-European Researchers' Night, this project demonstrates ACCC's role as an official national-level science engagement operator within the MSCA framework.