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Article History

Received: 24 June 2024

Accepted: 28 January 2026

First Online: 10 February 2026

Competing interests

: The authors declare no competing interests.

: Name of the approval body: De Montfort University, Leicester, UK Approval number: 508517 Date of approval: 24 Oct 2022 Scope of approval: Face to face research interactions, including interviews, focus groups, workshops etc.; Travel for research purposes; Any activity that could be considered ‘fieldwork’.

: How : All informed consent was obtained in written form (see below). When: The informed consent was obtained at the day of the workshops. In total, there were 20 workshops conducted in six different countries. All workshops were conducted between December 2022 and March 2023 . During the introduction of the workshops, participants were introduced to research ethics and data collection, the context and the planning (timeline, schedule, etc.) of the workshop. Participants also received a packet containing a unique, randomized ID and a informed consent sheet. It covered information on data use and consent to publish the results. By Whom: The informed consent was obtained by the partner institutions that facilitated the workshops: (1) ScienceCenter-Netzwerk (Austria), (2) iQLANDIA (Czech Republic), (3) Bucharest Science Festival (Romania), (4) Center for the Promotion of Science (Serbia), (5) Parque de las Ciencias (Spain), and (6) VA – Vetenskap & Allmänhet (Sweden). From whom: In total, 331 participants took part in the 20 workshops. Among the participants were members belonging to vulnerable groups: socio-economic disadvantage (e.g., as youth (over 18 years old) not in education, employment or training, homelessness); social and physical isolation (e.g., people living in rural, remote and regional areas, isolated elderly); gender and LGBTQ + ; Minority status, including Roma communities, migrants, refugees, asylum seekers; learning difficulties and physical difficulties and disabilities; mental and physical health, including patients with chronic or incurable diseases. It was explicitly stated that among the participants were no minors (or under 16, as per legislation) and that every participant was capable to give consent. For more information on the participants, see chapter 5.2 here: Scope of the consent: Here is the Informed Consent Form that was handed out to each participant. Informed Consent Form I, the undersigned, confirm that I have read and understood the information about the project, as described information sheet. I have been given the opportunity to ask questions about the activity in which I am participating and the survey. I am participating in this research voluntarily, meaning that I decide whether I participate or not. I am free to stop participating at any time. I understand that I will be asked to provide my professional or personal views. I may refuse to answer any questions I do not wish to discuss -- without any consequences. I understand that my answers to the survey will be separated from any information that can identify me and stored separately. I understand that the workshop will not be recorded but that facilitators will write down notes from the discussion, without attributing them to a specific person. I understand that the information gathered during this activity (non-identifiable to specific persons) will be used for a report of the project which will be submitted to the European Commission and made available publicly on the project website and in a public repository. The data may also be used for other related research outputs such as publications in scientific journals. Under the General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 (art. 13 and 14), the project has an obligation to inform me of the purpose of the collection, use, storage, and retention of the information I have provided. I understand that the project will only collect information that is relevant to its activities. Any personal information will be stored on the organiser’s internal servers and will accessible to only those involved in the TechEthos project. The project will not transfer my personal information to third parties outside the project. I have the right to access data about myself and correct any errors. I have the right to obtain the restriction of processing or the right to transmit my data to another controller under the specific terms of the General Data Protection Regulation. In addition, I have the right to object to the processing of my personal data. If I am of the opinion that my data is processed unlawfully, I have the right to file a complaint with a supervisory authority. I understand that this activity conforms to the guidelines of the European Commission. I can contact person X, leader of the activities of the project in country X with any queries relating to my data or the project itself: •By email: email X •By phone: phone no X Data protection officer at the level of the overall TechEthos project: Beatrice Kornelis (beatrice.kornelis@ait.ac.at) Data protection officer within the organization X: to be added Participants information: Name______ (Organisation)_______ Date and place_________ Signature________ Consent form: All participants have been fully informed that their anonymity is assured, why the research is being conducted, how their data will be utilised. There was no risk implied with the participation on the study. For more, see the attached Consent form that was handed out at the workshops.