The brave new world of citizen science: reflecting critically on notions of citizenship in citizen science

Citizen Science (CS) advocates often claim that CS is ‘science for the public by the public’. This assertion could be easily dismissed on the basis that it’s used as a slogan to quickly establish what CS is and does.... [ view full abstract ]

Citizen Science (CS) advocates often claim that CS is ‘science for the public by the public’. This assertion could be easily dismissed on the basis that it’s used as a slogan to quickly establish what CS is and does. However, as CS initiatives become widespread and acquire a place in ‘mainstream’ science and culture, there is a danger that this short statement is accepted without further questioning. We invite the CS community to experience, discuss and critically assess CS in relation to the question: what is the place of the ‘citizen’ in CS? Indeed, CS comes in various guises: it can involve the public to various degrees or it can be led by the public; the motivations, governance, objectives, formats and methodologies are equally diverse and multifaceted; the results and impacts range from the non-descript to the highly significant. This diversity of CS practices, models and notions warrants reflection on the 'feeling of what happened', the experiences of the citizens in CS. And, this debate cannot be separated from ‘which’ citizens we are talking about, that is, how are citizen scientists conceived? What notions are put forward when a programme, initiative or activity is prepared? And what is the role that the citizens see themselves performing or fulfilling? One could argue that in the context of CS the ‘user’ and the ‘producer’ of the experiences are often enmeshed, but, to what extent is the citizen herself accountable for her experience? And if not, what are her rights and how can they be negotiated? With contributions drawn from crowdsourced stories, this session aims to archive and further the debate on the extent to which CS initiatives intersect with everyday life, progress the democratisation of knowledge-making and connect with wider notions of citizenship.