Recap of 1st Common Challenges workshop
On Tuesday, November 30, our workshop series 'Common Challenges' kicked off. In our first session 'Starting with citizen science' we already learned about interdisciplinary opportunities in citizen science and discussed the characteristics of a good citizen science project.
Next week, we will focus on citizen science and data. You can still register here.
Call of the Nightingale
In our workshops, we give the floor to a number of interesting speakers. In our first session 'Starting with citizen science', Silke Voigt-Heucke talked about the 'Nightingale Project' and how they managed to engage different target groups. Besides being a researcher at the Berlin Museum für Naturkunde, Silke is also the coordinator of eu-citizen.science.
The Nightingale Project wanted to raise citizens' interest in nature, and therefore chose the nightingale as its focus. Because the nightingale often appears in literature and poetry, this bird is not only interesting for nature enthusiasts, but also for art-loving citizens. The project aimed at three specific target groups: students, refugees and nightlife. Each target group was approached with a unique way, from organized group activities to the development of an app. By combining citizen science with other disciplines such as art, you can generate engagement before, during and after a project with citizens you might not otherwise reach.
Quality over distinction
The second speaker, Anne Land-Zandstra of Leiden University, elaborated on her research into quality factors in citizen science projects. She recommended that we stop discussing about what is and what is not considered citizen science. More importantly, we should examine how we can optimize the quality of citizen science. For example, the working group on citizen science of the Dutch NPOS program worked out a matrix of quality factors, based on the ten principles of the European Citizen Science Association (ECSA). This matrix can be applied to each phase of a citizen science project.
Common challenges
After the speakers, the workshop participants engaged in a discussion about their challenges in starting a citizen science project. From this discussion, two central "common challenges" emerged that two groups explored in greater depth:
- How do you motivate stakeholders with little time or interest?
- How do you motivate diverse audiences to participate and co-design a project?
Next week we will focus on citizen science and data. We welcome Pen-Yuang Hsing from the University of Bath and discuss Scivil's data charter. You can still register.
