Courses and participatory sessions

The Project offers both Methodological Courses and Data Management Courses. These are short, two-day training activities designed to develop knowledge related to the application of advanced methods and techniques for data analysis, as well as enhance skills in managing research data in accordance with FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable Data) principles. The courses are aimed at encouraging the use of quantitative approaches and access to FOSSR infrastructure data. The courses are delivered synchronously through a virtual platform. They are aimed at scholars, young researchers, students and stakeholders from civil society.

Methodological courses focus on solutions for socioeconomic data collection and analysis developed by the Project, present tools for developing longitudinal surveys, and introduce innovative methods for knowledge representation. They provide a combination of theoretical and interactive activities, and include “hands-on” work sessions.

Data management courses aim to impart functional skills for managing the data lifecycle and sharing data effectively in the context of Open Science. These courses are designed to promote management of big data sets in accordance with FAIR principles, GDPR rules, and ethical aspects.

These are interactive sessions, conducted in a hybrid mode, lasting two days, designed to allow researchers and social actors to share perspectives on how to use resources and services available with FOSSR, stimulate pathways for change in research, and reflect on how data-generated knowledge can produce social impact. FOSSR offers two formats of participatory sessions, characterized by a high level of interaction among participants.

Learning sessions promote active learning, with expert guidance, on how to harness the potential of FOSSR resources and services to address socially relevant issues and problems. The goal is to bring out training needs related to data exploitation and concrete research interests, and stimulate shared development of solutions through peer and expert discussion. Participants contribute to the proposal of content, stimulate discussions, conduct critical reflections, engage in hands-on activities, and evaluate the results of their peers. The target audience includes researchers and scholars in the field of social research and nonacademic stakeholders.

The Action-Research Sessions rest on an innovative format in which participants are guided in exploring concrete problems they experience in their research (or research-related) work in order to co-generate pathways to change. FOSSR offers these types of sessions, moderated by an expert, to achieve the following objectives: to stimulate the undertaking of transformative actions that respond to participants’ development questions; and to understand how services and methods developed by the Project can be leveraged to generate social impact and can be co-generated in line with the needs of researchers and stakeholders.