Establishing the Citizen Science Network Australia

Citizen Science Network Australia (CSNA) is a developing ’community of practice’ which supports researchers, educators, businesses, natural resource managers, government, community groups and volunteers in all aspects of... [ view full abstract ]

Citizen Science Network Australia (CSNA) is a developing ’community of practice’ which supports researchers, educators, businesses, natural resource managers, government, community groups and volunteers in all aspects of citizen science. The aims of the Network are to:
• Improve communication among citizen science practitioners within Australia through the development of an active peer to peer network;
• Provide support to new and existing citizen science projects by facilitating partnerships, distributing information and assisting with supporting resources;
• Promote the benefits of citizen science to the wider Australian community;
• Act as a facilitator to international citizen science associations;
• Provide community volunteers with information on how to volunteer or how to start your own citizen science project;
• Support the development of a national plan for citizen science.

Momentum in the field led to an workshop held in May 2014 which brought together the diverse interests in citizen science in Australia to discuss the potential for forming a national representational body. More than 90 people attended the workshop in Brisbane, Australia and since then more than 200 individuals have registered their interest in becoming members. Four working groups were formed to develop aspects of representational body covering Charter and Objectives, Governance and Entity, Funding, and Communications. This poster will present the latest activities of the CSNA and its role in progressing the field of citizen science in Australia.