The Science Shop of Lyon - Saint-Étienne serves to bring together researchers and civil society, thanks to joint research projects seeking to answer questions raised by community-based associations. Its two principal areas of activity are: "Sustainable Development Science and Engineering" and "Global Health and Society".

The Science Shop is attached to the "Science and Society" department of the Université de Lyon, which has pursued numerous initiatives since 2007 favouring a dialogue between research and the general public (the "Festival of Science", the "Researchers' Night", "Let's talk about it", etc.).
Part of the Avenir Lyon Saint-Étienne Programme (PALSE), the Science Shop contributes to promoting the work of the participating institutions' students and researchers.
Member of the international science shop network Living Knowledge, its existence has been facilitated by the PERARES (Public Engagement with Research and Research Engagement with Society) European Project.

The Science Shop receives societal requests for assistance, which are then selected and reformulated with its Scientific Committee. Coordinators organize and accompany the meeting between the association formulating the question, the student carrying out the field study and the researcher providing his or her expertise. They oversee all stages of mediation among the various partners, coordinate the human and financial resources, and furnish support tools. In partnership with the Institut Rhône-Alpes Médias (IRAM), they offer a training module to facilitate the "intercultural" communication among the projects' diverse participants and to promote their shared work.

Following four to six months of research carried out by the three parties (the association, the student and the researcher), the results are exploited and promoted by the Science Shop. An illustrated summary is made available to the general public via the Internet and an on-site feedback session is organized (visits, games, films, etc.), often involving new partners (cultural and social players, events, etc.).
These promotional efforts and these partnerships lend concrete form to the link between the sciences and society. They are the fruit of citizens' involvement in the further development of knowledge.

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