The Future is Participatory—and So Should Research
Pooja
July 9, 2026, 11:13 a.m.
Over the past three years, one of the most rewarding parts of my work has been helping to build the Network of Researchers for Citizen Science (NR4CS) through the European Citizen Science (ECS) project.
When we first started discussing the idea of a researcher-focused network, we recognised something many of us had experienced ourselves. Researchers were interested in citizen science and participatory approaches, but many simply didn't know where to begin. Questions kept coming up.
How do I meaningfully involve communities in my research?
What does good citizen science actually look like?
How do I navigate ethics, data quality, or co-creation?
Who can I learn from?
These conversations became the starting point for NR4CS.
What began as a small cohort of researchers has since grown into an international community of more than 350 members, bringing together researchers from different disciplines, career stages, and countries who share a common interest in making research more participatory.
One of our priorities was to build capacity through practice, not simply awareness. Through the ECS project, we co-designed a series of training sessions and mentoring activities covering topics ranging from public engagement and participatory research design to ethics, proposal development, data quality, and impact assessment. Rather than presenting citizen science as a fixed methodology, we encouraged researchers to reflect on how communities could become genuine partners throughout the research process. All of these resources remain openly available through the MCAA YouTube channel and Zenodo, ensuring that researchers can continue to learn from them long after each session has ended.
Perhaps the biggest lesson for me has been that participatory research requires participatory researcher development.
We cannot expect researchers to build meaningful partnerships with communities if they have never been given opportunities to develop the skills that make those partnerships possible. Building trust, facilitating dialogue, designing inclusive research, and working across disciplines are not optional extras; they are becoming essential research competencies.
Building NR4CS has also reminded me that communities need care. Networks don't thrive simply because people join them. They grow when members feel welcomed, supported, and able to contribute. Like citizen science itself, community-building is fundamentally about relationships.
As the ECS project comes to an end, we are now asking a different question: how do we ensure that communities like NR4CS continue to grow beyond the lifetime of a funded project?
There is no simple answer. Sustainability requires partnerships, shared ownership, and continued investment in people. But the enthusiasm we've seen from researchers across the world gives me confidence that this work is only just beginning.
Some of the most meaningful moments have come from hearing directly from members of the community. One participant shared that the workshops "gave me the confidence to commit to an MSCA application," while another wrote to say that participating in NR4CS had fundamentally changed how they understood citizen science and public engagement. Perhaps the message that stayed with me most simply read: "I don't know if I would have reached this milestone without your influence."
For me, those messages capture the true value of building communities. They remind us that behind every webinar, every mentoring session, and every conversation is a researcher looking for guidance, confidence, and connection.
If research is to remain relevant, responsive, and trusted, participation cannot simply be something we ask of communities. It must also become part of how we develop researchers.
The future is participatory, and so should research!
By Pooja Khurana