ASSOCIATION TRACES THEORIES ET REFLEXIONS SUR L APPRENDRE LA COMMUNICATION ET L EDUCATION SCIENTIFIQUES

Their core work

TRACES is a Paris-based association specializing in science communication, public engagement, and bridging the gap between researchers and the general public. They design and run interactive events — including France's European Researchers' Night — that use arts-based and participatory methods to make science accessible and entertaining. Beyond events, they work on science education reform in schools, co-design methodologies for science policy, and connect informal learning with formal education through living lab approaches.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their early H2020 period (2014–2017), TRACES focused heavily on public-facing science events — Researchers' Night editions built around entertainment, dialogue, and creating an engaging atmosphere for researcher-public meetings. From 2018 onward, their work shifted toward systemic change: co-design methodologies for policy (SISCODE), embedding science engagement into school curricula through living labs (SALL), and connecting informal science learning with formal education (SySTEM 2020). The trajectory shows a clear move from organizing science communication events to designing the systems and institutions that sustain public engagement long-term.

TRACES is moving from event-based science communication toward embedding participatory methods into education systems and policy processes — making them increasingly relevant for projects that need institutional engagement design, not just outreach.

How they like to work

TRACES operates exclusively as a participant or third party — they have never coordinated an H2020 project, which positions them as a specialist contributor brought in for their science communication and public engagement expertise. With 87 unique consortium partners across 25 countries, they have an unusually broad network for an organization of their size, suggesting they are a trusted engagement partner that different consortia bring in repeatedly. Their typical role is to handle the public-facing, participatory, and co-design dimensions of larger research or coordination projects.

TRACES has built an extensive European network of 87 unique consortium partners spanning 25 countries — a remarkably wide reach for a small Paris-based association. This breadth reflects their role as a go-to partner for science engagement across diverse research communities.

What sets them apart

TRACES occupies a distinctive niche as a science communication association that combines hands-on event production (Researchers' Night) with methodological innovation in participatory design and education. Unlike universities or research institutes that add communication as an afterthought, TRACES treats public engagement as its core discipline — with expertise in arts-science crossovers, interactive formats, and co-design processes. For consortium builders, they bring a rare combination: deep experience running large public engagement activities AND the academic grounding to design and evaluate those activities rigorously.

Highlights from their portfolio

• SISCODE
  Their largest funded project (EUR 195,875), focused on co-design and co-creation ecosystems for science policy — a significant step beyond their traditional event-based work.
• SALL
  Second-largest funding (EUR 177,500) and their most recent substantial project, applying living lab methodology to transform schools into sites of open science engagement.
• PERFORM
  Combined performing arts with participatory action-research in secondary schools — a distinctive arts-science education approach with EUR 130,125 in funding.