Welcome to the second newsletter from the Permanent Observatory of Public Engagement (POPE). This issue is dedicated to methods of public engagement and questions on public empowerment and public misperception.

The first two articles explain the methods that can be used for public engagement: the Liberating Structures, developed by Henri Lipmanowicz and Keith McCandless and Theory U, developed by Otto Scharmer. The third article talks about the high level of public misperception of policies and politics, and, referring to Bobby Duffy’s recent book, “The Perils of Perception”, suggests ways to mitigate this and to ensure adequate political participation. In the fourth article we highlight the most important criteria for “good” empowerment, developed by Mary Parker Follett, and explain how to evolve from public “engagement” to “empowerment” in the context of research and innovation policy.

Last but not least, we sat down for an interview with Roberto Verganti, Professor of Leadership and Innovation at the School of Management of the Politecnico di Milano, who gives us his perspective on these issues.