D4.3 Validation report of the VERITY Protocol

This deliverable presents the validation process of the VERITY Protocol, a comprehensive framework of recommendations aimed at enhancing societal trust in science, research, and innovation. The objective of the VERITY Protocol for Fostering Trust in Science is to serve as a practical guide for Stewards of Trusts (SOT) on how to foster public trust in science using their official mandate or actual influence within the ecosystem of trust represented through high-level strategies. The main objective of the validation process is to ensure that the VERITY Protocol is refined in a way that its final recommendations on fostering public trust in science are not only theoretically sound but also practically and effectively usable by all SOTs. For this purpose, the validation process foresaw the enhancement of the utility and reliability of the VERITY Protocol via direct feedback from a diverse group of stakeholders. All stakeholders were engaged in a collaborative feedback and assessment procedure, with the aim of collecting actionable ideas and notions on the structure, concepts, and recommendations of the VERITY Protocol. The validation process utilised a mixed approach of quantitative and qualitative methods, unveiling potential implementation risks, opportunities, and challenges for recommendations at three interrelated analytical levels (micro-, meso- and macro-level) through the lens of three key criteria (clarity, relevance, and feasibility). Through this multi-level approach, we aimed to ensure that the refined recommendations are relevant, coherent, and effective across diverse application contexts. The validation process consisted of three main phases: (1) exploratory survey, (2) scenario-building workshop, and (3) citizen media experiment. The report presents the results of the validation process, including (1) a brief, standalone VERITY Protocol of Recommendations for Fostering Trust in Science, (2) VERITY Online Interactive Tool, and (3) VERITY Scenario-Building Training for Effective Implementation of Recommendations, as well as an overview of potential future challenges in fostering trust in science.