PHERECLOS builds upon the theory of science capital and the experience that Children’s Universities (CUs) have made in the Third Mission of universities. With their engagement with children and young people, they became intermediaries between various actors in the educational and social landscape. As translators of the concerns, messages and knowledge of other parties (incl. business and industry, the state, civic society organizations etc.) they help to dismantle institutional boundaries of universities towards a wider society – and thus became incubators of change in education.

PHERECLOS develops models of collaboration in education which follow an approach of Open Schooling in six local education clusters, which include many of the mentioned stakeholders. These collaborative learning environments serve as experimental testbeds for schools and affect the quality of sciences engagement opportunities in general. The regional effectiveness and impact will lead to the development of implementation guidelines and policy briefs to enhance the sustainability of the overall approach, which is continuously informed by findings from academic implementation research.