Community of Practice: Citizen Science & Public Libraries

Public libraries interested in citizen science are invited to join this exciting new series of online events 'Community of Practice: Public Libraries & Citizen Science' happening throughout 2025. Hosted by SciStarter, ECS Academy, and PL2030 as part of the ECS project, these regular gatherings will connect libraries to share experiences, best practices, and guidance on developing their citizen science activities. Whether you're just starting out or looking to develop your citizen science programme, this is your opportunity to collaborate and grow.

ECS Collaboration Session - Advocacy in CS

Are you involved in citizen science projects or networks? The ECS Collaboration Sessions give you a platform to learn about different citizen science projects, exchange insights about key topics and competencies in CS, and share updates on your own work with a wide range of CS professionals. The ECS project is organising Collaboration Sessions once every two months. In these online Sessions, CS practitioners have the floor to host presentations, activities, and learning moments for the benefit of the European citizen science community. Do you want to learn about ongoing projects and specific competencies that can boost your own work? You are welcome join and participate in these sessions. Or do you want to host your own session, in which you share insights from your own work with the European CS community? Then, feel free to reach out to alex@stickydot.eu to arrange your session. Upcoming Session: February 4th - Amplify your Impact: Advocacy for Citizen Science Are you passionate about citizen science but unsure how to fully showcase its value to policymakers, funders, or even colleagues in your own organisation? Advocacy is a powerful tool for increasing awareness, recognition, funding, and policy change — but it can be tricky to get right! Join the upcoming ECS collaboration session focused on advocacy training for CS practitioners to learn and practice effective strategies to better communicate the value of your work and secure the support you need for your projects. This session is ideal for citizen science practitioners, project leaders, researchers, educators, and anyone passionate about advancing the field of citizen science. About the speaker: Ilona Kish With a wealth of experience in policy development and advocacy, Ilona has been a driving force behind numerous campaigns that have successfully highlighted the value of libraries to policymakers, funders, and communities across Europe and beyond. As Director of Public Libraries 2030, Ilona has been working to expand and reinforce the role of public libraries as beacons of citizen participation in science – and she sees the crucial role that advocacy skills play both in mainstreaming CS in Europe and in securing support for organisations working in the field. Session details: February 4th, 11:00 - 12:30 CET Online Format: Presentation from advocacy expert Ilona Kish + interactive group activities Interested in joining? Enter your email address below to receive the invite.

ECS Policy Event “Citizen Science beyond 2030: Societal Engagement for a Sustainable Future”

Join the ECS project at the online policy event "Citizen Science beyond 2030: Societal Engagement for a Sustainable Future” taking place on Wednesday, 22 January 2025, 10:00-12:00 CET. By contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - be it through providing monitoring data, raising awareness or promoting behavioural change - the citizen science community has demonstrated that it can play an important role in supporting sustainability transitions. During this online event, a panel of experts and decision-makers from science and policy will take stock of the progress made so far, identify challenges and barriers, and discuss how citizen science can best advance sustainable development in Europe both within and beyond the SDG framework.

ECS Collaboration Session - Citizen Science and Ethics

Do we ever stop to consider the ethical issues and dilemmas that arise within citizen science and other participatory processes? And what are the causes of, and possible solutions to, such issues? Are our organisations even adequately equipped to navigate these issues? Join our Collaboration Session on ethics in citizen science to discuss and work through these key issues. For this session, we will welcome the contributions of Stefanie Schuerz and Matimba Swana, who will share some of their experiences working on this topic. The session will consist of a presentation from the speakers, as well as a participatory group activity related to the topic. Information about the speakers: Stefanie Schuerz is a sociologist who works as a researcher and project manager at the Centre for Social Innovation (ZSI). Her primary focus is on evaluation and impact assessment, multi-stakeholder engagement and citizen science, research ethics and integrity, as well as data ethics and open science. Stefanie has coordinated processes for the co-design of R&I policy recommendations and has collaborated with funding agencies in the development and evaluation of ethical participatory activities. Matimba Swana is a PhD student at the University of Bristol with experience working in the UK Government Office for Science, Stemcell Technologies, and the Medical Research Network. Her research centres on cancer nanomedicine, swarm robotics, and bioethics, particularly regarding regulatory frameworks for cancer trials using nanoswarm technology, with a focus on Patient and Public Involvement. She co-founded PROTEAS to promote sustainable practices in robotics and Black and Brown in Bioethics to advance racial equity in the UK bioethics community, and serves on various committees related to cancer research and the arts.

Citizen science and public libraries: networking session

ECS Academy, SciStarter and Public Libraries 2030 are organising an online networking session for public library staff to share their experiences, challenges, and exchange with members of the citizen science community. Join us to kickstart the building of a stronger, more connected European citizen science library community. 🗓️ September 19 ⏰15:00 (CEST) 🔗Register: https://forms.gle/1G5hBfyt7StC11vH9

ECS project and ECSA at the Living Knowledge conference

The Living Knowledge Network – the formal international network of Science Shops and Community Based Research. The 10th conference of the network “Building and sustaining next generation engagement” will take place from 26-28 June, 2024 at the Universitat de Girona (Girona, Spain). ECSA and the ECS project will engage the public with a Playdecide (playdecide.eu) discussion game to explore the challenges of citizen science as an more democratic approach to research. Discussion games are participative formats designed to promote discussion between visitors, in a process of comparison of ideas and, at the same time, of learning facts, data and concepts. This Playdecide game is the first dedicated to citizen science, and it will be tested at the Living Knowledge conference.

Let’s imagine training for facilitators in citizen science projects!

ECS and ECSA will be present at the Ecsite conference 2024 (https://ecsite.wildapricot.org/Programme/). Discover and share skills and training methods to facilitate participatory research and citizen science projects. Science centers and museums, universities and third-places are key players in participatory citizen science projects. These programs aim to give citizens their place in the production of knowledge, and can range from the simple collection of scientific data to the co-construction or even co-governance of research projects. In recent years, these approaches have beenstriving to become a mainstream approach to scientific research well beyond the classical topics connected to environment and biodiversity. But citizen science faces many challenges, such as reliable data, recruitment and participation of citizens or reluctance to use this approach by scientists and researchers. A less discussed issue, and perhaps a solution to some of these challenges, is that of the skills needed to facilitate this type of project. Indeed it is essential to create the conditions for dialogue and work for all stakeholders (research teams, citizens, partners, associations...). They need support to create together, transform their perspectives, adapt tools to their context, stay involved, understand each other in depth…What specific skills, knowledge and attitudes do facilitators need in these participatory projects? Could a training programme in facilitation and participation help? This session will offer a feedback from institutions involved in citizen science (inter)mediation and facilitation training. These short presentations will break down the problem into several sub-questions. They will form the basis of the workshop, during which participants will collectively identify the list of skills and training methods that are most relevant for the people in charge of facilitating particpatory citizen science projects. Speakers: Catherine Oualian (Universcience, France), Claudia Aguirre Rios (Groupe TRACES, France), Aoife Taylor (Trinity College, Ireland), Simona Cerrato (ECSA), Paul Boniface (Groupe TRACES, France).

Mainstreaming citizen science at Ecsite2024 conference

In a 3-minutes show, the representatives of ECSA and of the ECS project showcases the potential of citizen science, the way ECSA works and the main characteristics of the ECS project. They use 3 coloured balls of yarn to create a web that unravels during the show and ultimately involve the viewers. The Ecsite conference is one of the main events dedicated to public engagement with about 1000 participants from science centres, museum, universities, associations and private companies.

Masterclass on Citizen Science for Library Executives

The ECS Academy and the LIBER Citizen Science working group will host a Library Executive Masterclass on Citizen Science. The event, held on the 7-8 May 2024 in Paris, France, is open to library executives and mid-level managers. Organised by Citizen Science experts Professor Muki Haklay (CRI and LPI), Anne Kathrine Overgaard and Thomas Kaarsted (SDU), the two-day programme will offer advice on how to integrate Citizen Science in your library.

Let’s discuss data and the eu-citizen.science platform with and for the citizen science community!

The ECS project invites everyone from the citizen science (CS) community to a joint event featuring the launch of the latest updates of the eu-citizen.science platform on April 24th, followed by the Cluster event on data infrastructure, services and practices on April 25th, 2024. On April 24th, from 10:00 to 12:00 CEST, we will present the eu-citizen.science platform's latest features, designed to benefit the CS community. Plus, there will be a training session to demystify the use of metadata generated by CS platforms. This session will use an interactive approach to describe and better understand the communities behind these platforms, enhancing your ability to engage with and contribute to the CS community. On April 25th, from 9:00 to 12:30 CEST, we will hold the Cluster Event on data practices, services and infrastructures in CS. The first part of the event will include presentations and Q&A sessions with key speakers in the field. The second part of the event will enable participants to discuss their needs and challenges in terms of data visualisation and analysis, qualitative data infrastructures and services as well as data ethics and policies. Key speakers are: - Michael Arentoft, Head of Unit, Open Science and Research Infrastructures, DG Research & Innovation, European Commission - Karel Luyben, President of the EOSC Association - Giovanni Maccani, Research Director, Ideas for Change - Dr. Pierre Bonnet, Botanist, CIRAD, BIOS Dept., UMR AMAP and Scientific coord. of the Pl@ntNet citizen science platform - Dr. Gefion Thuermer, Head of Research, Open Data Institute - Alessia Smaniotto, Citizen Science Officer, Operas See here the full agenda for both days: https://tinyurl.com/p3yb77w9 Register here: https://tinyurl.com/mp4yrrjx

ECS Policy Event "Redefining Excellence: The CoARA Agreement as an Opportunity for the Citizen Science Community"

In this upcoming ECS policy event, we will explore the central role of citizen science in reforming research assessment and redefining scientific excellence. Join our online panel of experts and decision-makers from science and policy as we discuss the CoARA Agreement - a unique opportunity to advance the integration of citizen science into mainstream academic funding and reputation systems. Together we will explore ways in which policymakers can champion this integration and reflect on its wider implications for both the field of citizen science and academia as a whole. Register here: https://forms.gle/1M34MnzGVLGk7MXP6

ECS project showcase: Sharing insights and facilitating dialogue in citizen science

Join the ECS project at the online event “ECS project showcase: Sharing insights and facilitating dialogue in citizen science” taking place on 27 February 2024, 12-13:30h CET. We will share the project’s insights on the topics of data practices in citizen science, impact evaluation, the ECS Academy (training and capacity building) and policy priorities of ECS in four input presentations. The second part of the event is interactive: engage in conversation with other participants around these topics in breakout rooms, facilitating the exchange of experiences and knowledge. Whether you’re looking to learn more ECS and its related topics or possess an in-depth understanding of citizen science training, policy priorities/recommendations, impact evaluation and data practices, this event promises to offer something valuable for everyone interested. We look forward to seeing you there.