About Resource
The report focuses on three questions:
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- What is citizen science?
- What purposes does it serve, and what are potential drawbacks?
- What promise does it hold?
The authors explain that, although "citizen science" has many definitions, public participation in research is at its core. They focus on what they call "community citizen science," which is when people who are not professional scientists have high levels of ownership and control over the research process—including in generating research questions, interpreting the data, and applying the research to solve collective problems. The report focuses on "community citizen science" for civic engagement in particular. The descriptions and motivations that the authors offer for community citizen science align with the community science approach civic engagement and policymaking, described in the described in our framework for community science. The primary goals of community citizen science in these contexts are to have more rigorous and inclusive decision-making processes.
How to Use
This report provides a concise summary of the contexts and motivations that support community science, particularly for community science projects that have the primary goals of civic engagement and policymaking. The report covers how "community citizen science" can be particularly important and effective in cases of high scientific uncertainty and complex decision making. These contexts, along with new technologies that can support greater engagement, have helped increase attention on "community citizen science." The report also describes some government programs for "community citizen science," including a brief and helpful history of the American Innovation and Competitiveness Act of 2017. A section of that act, named the Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science Act, encourages U.S. Federal agencies to use crowdsourcing and citizen science to advance their missions.
The examples provided in these descriptions are helpful for seeing how community science can look—particularly in policy settings—and some of the challenges to creating or using community science in these settings. The background information described is also helpful for providing some of the rationale for using community science approaches to advance effective decision making at the intersections of science and policy.
Author(s)/Organization: Ramya Chari, Luke Matthews, Marjory Blumenthal, Amanda Edelman, & Therese Marie Jones, RAND Corporation
Publication Year: 2017
Tags
Attributes:Aims for Action, Shares Leadership
Outcomes:Capacity for Civic Engagement, Increased Science Agency, Sustainable Solutions for Society
Approaches:Civic Engagement & Policymaking, Participatory Research
Type:Reports & Articles