EUROPEAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY ASSOCIATION

Their core work

The European Physical Society (EPS) is a pan-European learned society representing physicists across the continent, with a strong focus on science outreach, public engagement, and science education policy. In H2020, EPS contributed expertise in designing public awareness campaigns, developing science education frameworks, and building tools to assess how well schools and institutions engage citizens with science. Their practical contribution lies in bridging the physics community's knowledge with educational practice — translating scientific culture into accessible formats for young people and the general public.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

EPS began its H2020 involvement with event-driven outreach — coordinating the International Year of Light 2015 campaign and participating in creative science classroom projects. Over time, their focus shifted from one-off public awareness events toward systemic, structural approaches: open school models, science capital building, and formal assessment frameworks for science learning. The most recent project (SURROUNDEDbySCIENCE) signals a move toward measurable, accreditation-ready tools — suggesting EPS is maturing from campaign delivery into science education quality assurance.

EPS is moving from organizing awareness campaigns toward developing structured tools and standards for evaluating science engagement — positioning them as a quality assurance partner for future science education initiatives.

How they like to work

EPS mostly joins consortia as a participant (3 of 4 projects), bringing their pan-European physics network and dissemination reach to larger partnerships. With 42 unique partners across 20 countries from just 4 projects, they operate in large, diverse consortia — typical for CSA-funded coordination and support actions. Their one coordination role (LIGHT2015) was a focused campaign project, suggesting they can lead targeted initiatives but prefer contributing their network and expertise within broader teams.

Despite only 4 projects, EPS has built connections with 42 partners across 20 countries — reflecting their role as a pan-European professional society with reach far beyond their Mulhouse headquarters. Their network spans most of the EU, with no narrow geographic clustering.

What sets them apart

EPS brings something few other partners can: direct access to the organized European physics community — thousands of researchers, teachers, and institutions across 42 member societies. This makes them an exceptional dissemination and engagement partner for any project that needs to reach the scientific community or translate research into public-facing content. For consortium builders, EPS is the kind of partner that gives a science education or outreach proposal instant credibility and continent-wide reach.

Highlights from their portfolio

• LIGHT2015
  EPS's only coordinated project — led the European dimension of the UNESCO International Year of Light, their largest single grant (EUR 170,875).
• SURROUNDEDbySCIENCE
  Most recent and methodologically advanced project, developing digital toolboxes and accreditation frameworks for informal science learning — marks a strategic evolution for EPS.