The Creative Museum project was a three-year Strategic Partnership running from 2014 to 2017 and is funded via Erasmus+, Key Action 2 (Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices) - Vocational and Educational Training (VET).It gathered nine partner organisations: from museum associations to sciences centers through heritage, art museums and a maker space.The initial project proposal outlined the potential role of both digital engagement and the maker community in light of the European economic downturn. With reference to the Council of Europe 2014 report, the project sought to explore ‘new opportunities brought by globalisation, digitisation and new technologies which were changing the way cultural heritage is created, accessed and used’.The project addressed two main challenges for museums. Firstly, to become significant agents in the local economy as research centres, tourist destinations, places of employment and training. Secondly, to engage with more diverse audiences, emphasising their mission of serving the society with socio-cultural and educational purposes. As some older models of interaction no longer work, museum staff need to step outside their comfort zone and seek innovative ways to collaborate with their communities. The project was created in response to the need to provide training for museum professionals and their partners to accommodate a perceived shift in the dynamic of museum public programmes, where museums find themselves working collaboratively outside the sector, creating a new language of participation and engagement.As the Creative Museum project has developed and evolved we have seen digital technology as one of the tools that might be used as a means or method of interpreting collections, but the focus of the project has become to be as much about learning from and through the maker community about creative practices. Throughout the three years of The Creative Museum project, museum professionals have been encouraged to learn from each other through the partner meetings and the Museomix training sessions, to test new ways of interacting with audiences and create partnerships through the Maker-in-Residence training programme, to share practices and experiences, as well as disseminate the processes and outcomes via the website, social media and all conferences and workshops which have been organised by the project’s partners.The Creative Museum project had been designed as a space for prototyping, experimenting and documenting new ways of learning from organisations and individuals outside of the sector. Through training, discussion and experiementation it encouraged staff to take risks and to develop new ways of engaging with audiences; it was a dedicated space for projects where people had the right to make mistakes and to learn from the process. The Creative Museum project can be seen as a ‘laboratory for innovation’: it has encouraged discussion, reflection, brainstorming and experimentation amongst museum professionals, it has contributed to open up museums and transform them into more creative, participatory and lively environments.

The VOYAGES project is the collective effort of 12 partners and the legacy of 15 years of participation in the ERN as a Consortium. Our ambition is to organize events in 14 different French cities (specifically focusing on medium-sized cities, where there are researchers, but science engagement activities are less frequent), sharing the same objectives, activities, approach to popularization, and involving local researchers. Our project is based on an engaging theme: “Voyages” that will help visitors dream and stimulate researchers. Convinced that the quality of the exchange with researchers is the key factor in enriching and refining the public's vision of research and science in society, we create warm and aesthetic encounters between the public and researchers. Our theme stimulates the creativity of the scenographers and mediators who design playful activities to be shared by researchers and the public (The Researchers’ suitcase, different Strolls, etc.). On national and international scales, we are designing three online formats that will allow thousands of people to discover field research all over the world, engage in face-to-face dialogue on Zoom and debate with researchers from other countries. To achieve this “in person” and “online” strategy, the 1,000 researchers involved in the project will be coached and trained by mediators, artists or scenographers. A long-lasting effect on researchers will be one outcome, as ERN is an occasion for them to start a long journey in science engagement. The French Ministry of Culture will financially support the event for the 4th year, fostering the participation of researchers in social sciences and humanities; the Ministry of Research will also continue its support. One partner is in charge of strategies for reducing the environmental impact of the events. The ERN will let us take a breath of fresh air and formulate questions about the resources and future of the planet. Flight 2021 to Research is now boarding!