This November, EDvocacy members travelled to Brussels to participate in the official Training for Responsible Digitalisation Grantees of the REINFORCING project — marking the first in-person milestone of the EMPATHER initiative.

The two-day training brought together organisations from across Europe to explore how Responsible Digitalisation and ORRI (Open & Responsible Research and Innovation) principles can be meaningfully embedded into research practice. Through presentations, group work, and peer reflection, participants shared challenges, mapped stakeholders, and exchanged approaches for responsible use of digital technologies.

What this experience means for EMPATHER project

The training provided a strong foundation for EMPATHER as we begin developing a Privacy-by-Design framework and toolkit for educational research. Key takeaways we bring into the next project phase:

• ORRI is not only a methodology — it is a mindset shift
• Privacy-by-Design must be practical, usable and co-created
• Stakeholder involvement — including teachers, students and parents — is essential
• Clear communication and openness increase trust and adoption

These insights will inform our co-creation workshops, the formation of our Privacy Review Board, and the design of the first version of the EMPATHER Toolkit.

What comes next

In the coming months, EDVOCACY will:

✔ Establish the Privacy Review Board
✔ Begin developing Toolkit v1.0
✔ Host the first co-creation workshop
✔ Continue collaboration with REINFORCING and fellow grantees

This marks just the beginning — and we look forward to sharing progress, resources, and lessons learned as EMPATHER unfolds.