Since the 2016 report on the state of participatory science in France, this form of production of scientific knowledge has continued to develop whereby civil society players participate alongside researchers, on an individual or collective basis and in an active and deliberate way. This is illustrated by the declaration of the G7 science academies in 2019 and the support of funding agencies such as ANR and ADEME.

Although ethical issues were touched upon in the 2016 report, they were only briefly developed, mainly from the point of view of mutual respect and fairness between the stakeholders in participatory science projects. The report deals chiefly with questions of research ethics and integrity.

The Ethics in Common Committee is invited to reflect on the ethical challenges of participatory science and research (PRS), as defined in the charter published in France in 2017. In addition to the roles played by the various actors involved, PRS raises questions about the relationship between the scientific community and the other players in society, the reciprocal benefits they can derive, and the legitimacy of this method of producing knowledge and innovation.

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_{Photo: research training with different audiences (schools, professionals, citizens) on the "Tous Chercheurs" platform of the CiTIQUE program, Champenoux (France), 10 February 2022. Credit: INRAE / Bertrand NICOLAS}