Developing practical tools for responsible research is only one part of the EMPATHER project. Ensuring that researchers have the knowledge, confidence and skills to use them effectively is equally important.

Building on the development and testing of the EMPATHER ORRI Toolkit and Privacy-by-Design procedures, the project therefore placed particular emphasis on strengthening the capacity of the EDvocacy team to integrate responsible research principles into everyday practice.

The capacity-building activities followed a practical, hands-on approach. Rather than focusing only on theoretical aspects of research ethics and data protection, participants worked with realistic educational research scenarios to explore how ORRI and Privacy-by-Design principles can inform decisions throughout the research process.

The activities addressed issues such as identifying privacy and ethical risks at an early stage, working responsibly with educational data, informed consent and assent, selecting and using digital tools responsibly, and considering the particular ethical responsibilities associated with educational research involving children and young people.

The sessions also provided an opportunity to reflect on how the Toolkit can become part of normal research workflows rather than being used simply as a compliance resource.

Through this process, EMPATHER is moving beyond awareness-raising towards building the organisational capacity required for responsible digitalisation to become part of everyday educational research practice.

As the project enters its final implementation phase, attention is now turning towards monitoring how these practices are applied and supporting the long-term institutionalisation of ORRI and Privacy-by-Design within EDvocacy.