They collect insects, measure light pollution using an app or analyse historical narratives in social media: thousands of people take part in Citizen Science projects in Germany as volunteers every year. A joint platform of Wissenschaft im Dialog and Museum für Naturkunde Berlin presents and supports these projects. This year, the platform is celebrating its tenth anniversary and has given itself a new name: mit:forschen! Creating knowledge together.
The Citizen Science platform went online in April 2014 under the name Bürger schaffen Wissen ("Citizens create knowledge") with ten projects at the time. Today, the site brings together and networks over 270 Citizen Science projects in which citizens and scientists conduct research on various topics together. The joint project mit:forschen! is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.
"mit:forschen! is a living example of how Citizen Science is shaping the modern research landscape. The platform inspires thousands of volunteers to actively shape our knowledge landscape and thus makes a significant contribution to promoting enthusiasm for research and trust in science," says Dr Benedikt Fecher, Managing Director of Wissenschaft im Dialog.
Prof Dr Johannes Vogel, Director General of the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, adds: "In all well-functioning Citizen Science projects, you can sense strength, commitment and, above all, curiosity. Citizen Science will lead to better, more relevant and more exciting science."
Over the years, the platform has become the most important cross-disciplinary Citizen Science network in Germany. Initiators of Citizen Science projects can publish their projects on the platform and network in various regional and thematic working groups. In addition, events such as the annual specialist conference Forum Citizen Science (this year on 9 and 10 October 2024 in Hamburg) offer participants space for exchange. The new name mit:forschen! Creating knowledge together emphasises the collaborative partnership between researchers and citizens.
About Citizen Science
Citizen science describes a research approach in which people participate in scientific processes in their free time. Depending on their interests, this can be about regional language use, sustainable mobility or biodiversity, for example. Collaboration with full-time scientists takes place on an equal footing and can vary in intensity: from data collection via an app to the joint design of the process from research question to evaluation.