Citizen Scientists Negotiating Politics and Policy: Strategies and Outcomes for Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Programs

This study uses interview (n=19) and participant observation data from five volunteer water quality programs in the Greater Cincinnati / Northern Kentucky region to assess strategies utilized in achieving monitoring goals.... [ view full abstract ]

This study uses interview (n=19) and participant observation data from five volunteer water quality programs in the Greater Cincinnati / Northern Kentucky region to assess strategies utilized in achieving monitoring goals. Goals articulated by participants in these programs are fairly straightforward, i.e. “I want to protect the water.” In practice, however, protecting the water may not be as straightforward as it sounds. Volunteer monitoring programs are enmeshed in a network of political jurisdictions and regulatory agencies that may be more or less receptive to working with them and whose efforts may facilitate or constrain the impact of the program’s work.

Data reveal that programs often strive for maximum impact by partnering with local and county regulatory agencies (i.e. storm water districts, soil and water districts, etc.), but these partnerships can be complicated. Volunteer monitoring organizations benefit in a number of ways, for example, monitoring programs often receive funding and/or various in-kind donations from local regulatory agencies (i.e. use of lab space and equipment), and such partnerships can act as a conduit to data and information sharing between volunteer monitoring programs and regulatory agencies. On the other hand, there is evidence that volunteer programs may hesitate to pressure agencies to take action for fear of alienating their sponsor.

Successfully navigating these partnerships requires volunteer monitoring programs to strategically position themselves as neutrally as possible on policy matters and to resist actions that may be construed as activism. This strategy builds trust between regulatory agencies and volunteer monitoring organizations, and creates opportunities for volunteer data to be taken up in policy making and regulation. This study underscores the importance of crafting an apolitical stance as an effective strategy for volunteer monitoring organizations to influence politics and policy on water quality issues.