Publication

How to change research culture with participatory workshops

Changing research culture begins with the kind of engaged, collaborative, critical reflection that can spark collective action. This Comment outlines how to design participatory workshops as an effective tool for culture change in scientific communities.

Author

Anne E. Urai, Anna van 't Veer, Eiko I. Fried & Clare Kelly

Date

15 January 2026

Links

Nature

How does research culture change? From open science practices to engagement with societal challenges, we have seen major shifts when individuals from a variety of backgrounds and roles come together to demand and enact change. Bottom-up collective action can change people’s day-to-day behaviour and compel top-down institutional and political change, and reshape research culture. A crucial ingredient is engaging those affected: connecting people around a shared goal, encouraging them to identify the change they want and empowering them to work towards it. Here, the researchers offer guidance for designing and running participatory workshops as an ideal format.