Cluster event: Advancing Public Engagement and Citizen Science in the ERA
The event will celebrate citizen science and showcase the value of public engagement, highlighting best practices, guiding future policy, sharing knowledge and building collaboration. The 2025 EU Citizen Science Prize winners will also be announced! REA is proud to co-host a cluster event which will gather researchers and policymakers to discuss the impact of public engagement on evidence-based policymaking. In addition, - The event will provide a platform to showcase successful and innovative citizen engagement strategies, while reinforcing the value of “Bringing science closer to citizens” within the European Research Area. - EU-funded research projects will present their citizen science and public engagement experience and share best practices. - The winners of the EU Prize for Citizen Science will be announced. The Prize rewards outstanding citizen science initiatives that address social, political, cultural, and environmental challenges through the involvement of citizens. The full event will take place in Brussels. Those connected online will be able to follow the plenary session (in the morning) and the winners' announcement (in the afternoon). The event is co-organised by REA and EU-funded projects IMPETUS and ECS.
Do you want to help build the European Research Infrastructure for Excellence in Citizen Science? The first step is happening in the upcoming ECS Collaboration Session! The RIECS-Concept project will conceptualise the European Research Infrastructure for Excellence in Citizen Science. This RI will integrate citizens’ resources, such as mobile phones and computers, with existing scientific platforms and data collections; and it will offer transversal services, improving accessibility across research communities. The RIECS-Concept project will produce two key outcomes: a conceptual design including a feasibility study, and a five-year implementation plan for the new research infrastructure. These outcomes will provide detailed insights into the diversity and maturity of the concept considering technical, operational, societal, and environmental challenges associated with establishing the permanent and shared infrastructure. This is the very first activity of many to gather inputs and community-based evidence, in collaboration with the ECS project. You will have a chance to not only learn about this important project but also to bring your own input, needs and solutions, independently of your background or scientific domains. Who can join? This Collaboration Session is aimed at the entire Citizen Science community: practitioners, students, researchers, educators, representatives of CS projects and networks, etc.
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.
University of Warwick, Scarman …
Collaborations Workshop 2024 (CW24) will bring together researchers, developers, innovators, managers, funders, publishers, policy makers, leaders and educators to explore best practices and the future of research software. CW24 will take place as a hybrid event from Tuesday 30 April to Thursday 2 May 2024, at the University of Warwick, UK. Registration is open via Eventbrite until Friday 5 April 2024. The full agenda can be found here. The themes of CW24 will be: Environmental Sustainability AI/ML tools for science Citizen science Each topic will be the subject of a keynote talk: Keynote 1: AI/ML Tools | Arfon Smith is a product manager at GitHub and works on integrating AI into the core GitHub experience. He also works on bringing open source to academia by improving support for scholarly work on the platform. Keynote 2: Citizen Science | Lucy Robinson leads the Community Science Programme at the Natural History Museum, London, and is an internationally recognised citizen science specialist with 15 years of experience. Keynote 3: Environmental Sustainability | Dr Kelly Widdicks is a Software Systems Architect at the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology and leads research on the responsible co-design of digital research infrastructure for environmental science. Further information about the keynote speakers can be found here.
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
Webinar training on VERA, the Virtual Ecosystem for Research Activation, developed through the COESO project
Join our webinar training on VERA, the Virtual Ecosystem for Research Activation, developed through the COESO project (Collaborative Engagement on Societal Issues). 📅 Date: 16 January 2024 ⏲️ Time: 11:00-12:00 CEST 🚩 Register now: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEld--rpz4qEtdUv1lf9dydbluoUKHcpYDc Participatory research/ citizen science in social sciences and humanities disciplines usually involves small-scale, intense collaborations between members of academic institutions (universities and other research institutions) and members of non-academic organizations that work directly with the community (community-based organizations, non-governmental organizations, civil associations, small businesses etc.). The VERA platform serves as a “collaboratory” where participatory research/citizen science projects can be realized and new collaborations can be established. Through its profiling and matchmaking tool, its project management features and its funding database, VERA helps projects get started, stay organized, and find the necessary funding. At this webinar, participants will get guidance on how to use VERA platform. The COESO project is a 3-year project funded until Dec 2023 by the European Commission's Science with and for Society grant and supported by the OPERAS research infrastructure.
We are thrilled to announce the "ECS Co-Design Process in Action: Introducing the Updated eu-citizen.science Platform and API Training", an event set to redefine the way we view the eu-citizen.science platform. This 150-minute engagement taking place on July 27, 2023, from 12:00 - 14:30 CEST, is your gateway to understanding the next generation of citizen science.This event is uniquely split into two main sections, offering flexibility to attend one part, or both, based on your interests and needs.The first part (12:00 - 13:15 CEST) is a comprehensive exploration of the ECS Co-Design Process. With an accessible and interactive format, we will delve into the details of the updated eu-citizen.science platform. Opening with a brief presentation on the overarching ECS project, we will then focus on the Co-Design Process' first cycle results, which birthed three novel services: the Project Visualisation Map, the Improved Event Section, and the Enhanced Search Engine. Each service will be presented in detail, offering a practical understanding of their functions. We invite all attendees to contribute to an engaging discussion period where we will entertain queries, comments, and thoughts on these services, as well as our next steps. This is your chance to interact directly with our platform's architects, including members of the ECSA Platform Working Group.Following a brief intermission (13:15 - 13:30 CEST), we continue with a highly informative, practical training session (13:30 - 14:20 CEST). This workshop is designed to explain API handling concepts, providing a foundation for anyone interested in unlocking the true potential of the eu-citizen.science platform. With no advanced knowledge required, the session is ideal for those wishing to establish interoperability between platforms and to use our platform's content for data visualisation exercises. This training session is particularly suitable for researchers and those looking to develop other citizen science platforms.Registration is made simple through an online form, allowing attendees to choose between attending one part, or the complete event. Whether you're a casual browser, a co-design process participant, a dedicated platform user, or an API enthusiast, this event promises something for everyone.Join us in this exciting journey as we embark on a new era of citizen science with the upgraded eu-citizen.science platform. We look forward to seeing you there.
Bonn, Germany at Max …
Participatory research/ citizen science in social sciences and humanities disciplines usually involves small-scale, intense collaborations between members of academic institutions (universities and other research institutions) and members of non-academic organizations that work directly with the community (community-based organizations, non-governmental organizations, civil associations, small businesses etc.). The VERA platform serves as a “collaboratory” where participatory research/citizen science projects can be realized and new collaborations can be established. Through its profiling and matchmaking tool, its project management features and its funding database, VERA helps projects get started, stay organized, and find the necessary funding. At this interactive workshop, participants will share their experiences about the various dimensions of practicing participatory research/ citizen science within the social science and humanities domain and will get guidance on how to use the newly published VERA platform to best serve their project’s needs. The VERA developers and community manager will be onsite to collect valuable feedback from participants on how we can improve VERA before the final version is released in December 2023.
ECS at the Ecsite conference 2023
A representative of the ECS | European Citizen Science project will be at the Ecsite conference 2023 to talk about the opportunity it offers. ECS represents a wide diversity of stakeholders have joined forces to create the capacity, structure, and connections to widen and strengthen the European citizen science community and establish citizen science as a recognised, promoted and funded approach. The four-year EU-funded project European Citizen Science will create capacity-building opportunities, provide open collaborative spaces where citizen scientists can familiarise themselves with open science principles, engage public libraries to attract underrepresented publics, as well as provide support to countries and regions which lack citizen science networks, platforms and policy recognition.
CitSciHelvetia is the Swiss Citizen Science Conference. CitSciHelvetia connects Swiss stakeholders in Citizen Science and participatory research in general, promoting the exchange of experiences and shared learning between the three language and cultural regions. It serves as the platform for professional exchange with Science et Cité hosting the second Swiss Citizen Science Conference. CitSciHelvetia'23 will take place on March 29 and 30, 2023 at Landhaus Solothurn. It follows the motto “Citizen Science – Making impact participatory!”. The conference addresses project leaders and project staff of Citizen Science projects, representatives of universities, research institutions, NGOs and associations as well as people who engage themselves in Citizen Science on an institutional level. In addition, the conference addresses representatives of science communication, transdisciplinary and participatory research, and Open Science. Registration for the Swiss Citizen Science Conference is open until March 8, 2023.
BIO-DATAthon: A unique validation event of biodiversity data!
The activity aims to validate species names of the biodiversity observations coming from several citizen science platforms, such as Natusfera, Pl@ntNet or Artportalen; you can validate terrestrial or marine images, depending on your expertise! The event is organised by the Cos4Cloud project. Natusfera and Artportalen are citizen science platforms where volunteers update and identify all kinds of biodiversity images, while Pl@ntNet gathers plants’ observations worldwide. These images are now available in Cos4Bio, a new online platform that integrates observations on biodiversity from various citizen science platforms. When? This online event will take place from the 7th of December until the 15th of January; you can do it from home when it fits you better; no pressure! Who is this event for? It is aimed at experts (by learning or by experience) who can identify species names (any taxon!). Read more on Cos4Bio and the event at the event page.
Describing your citizen science project – How to present your project and recruit volunteers
In this installment of our webinar series, CS Track researchers will share tips and tricks for writing informative and engaging project descriptions and analyse concrete examples (both positive and negative) together with the participants. Moreover, participants will have the chance to draft their own descriptions and receive feedback from the presenters. Following a round of introductions and presentation of our research, the participants will analyse examples (good and bad), discuss good practices for writing project descriptions, and then draft their own project descriptions (for real or fantasy projects). Who is it aimed at? Project initiators and coordinators, CS platform managers What will you learn? Some input on how to efficiently and attractively promote their projects; insight into participants’ expectations Workshop leaders Workshop leaders: Marius Oesterheld, Wissenschaft im Dialog, and Dr. Yaela Golumbic, The MOFET Institute.
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