In 2014, the Miistakis Institute hosted a Citizen Science Conference, exploring this diverse field with sessions on program design, evaluation, policy implications, technology and applications in parks and protected areas. This links to the website that chronicled that event.
Jade Cawthray-Syms
How Participatory is our Citizen Science?
Speaker Bio:Jade is a PhD student at the University of Dundee, Scotland, UK. With a Bachelors degree in Ecology and Conservation from Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, and a Masters in Science Communication from Imperial College London, Jade has spent the last 10 years working across the public and voluntary sector around public engagement with science and the environment. Before starting her PhD research Jade spent two years delivering national citizen science projects at the Natural History Museum, London. Her PhD research explores how co-created approaches to scientific research can support communities in taking action on the issues that matter to them.
Presentation: How Participatory is our Citizen Science?
As the practice of citizen science has burgeoned a number of different approaches have been identified, namely Contributory, Collaborative and Co-created citizen science. And whilst there are a wide variety of ways in which the public can be involved in scientific research, the Contributory approach, where the public are purely involved in data collection or data processing, is the most dominant method used. This approach has led to huge advancements in science, enabling the collection of significantly larger datasets, covering much larger geographic scales and time spans. But whilst Contributory projects are celebrating huge successes, the more participatory approaches, such as Co-created citizen science, have had little attention. And where the public are more fully involved in the research process a different suite of opportunities exist. Where Contributory projects tend to be driven by the needs and objectives of scientific institutions, Co-created projects offer an opportunity to address questions and concerns identified by communities. Where Contributory projects can collect large scale datasets, Co-created projects offer an opportunity for a more intensive investigation of place-based issues. And where Contributory projects can increase scientific literacy and environmental understanding, Co-created projects offer an opportunity to further build this into agency and empowerment within communities. This presentation will suggest how far away we are from regularly embracing more participatory forms of scientific research by reflecting on current trends in practice, discussing our existing capacity to successfully deliver such approaches, and highlighting the challenges and considerations that need to be addressed when doing so.