The Museum für Naturkunde and its partners from other European countries has been able to secure funding for research into the social effects of citizen science as part of the European programme COST (framework for COoperation in Science and Technology. This is one of the major projects within the context of the COST programme, involving 32 countries, says Katrin Vohland, Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, who chairs the initiative. “We have been overwhelmed by the interest in the citizen science topic. We want to bring together a wide range of groups from all walks of life and from almost all European countries so that they can take part in research and promote the idea of science as a source of enlightenment and the value of science in general.”
In the Citizen Science - COST initiative (Citizen Science to promote creativity, scientific literacy, and innovation throughout Europe), scientists from 32 countries look at how science, technology and innovation can be made accessible to the public, focussing in particular on the citizen science approach. Citizen science involves amateurs in the research process. Volunteers often collect data, but also develop the scope of a research project and interpret the data collected as part of the research project. What technical options are available to improve collaboration between science institutions and amateur researchers? How can socially disadvantaged groups be included in the process? Does citizen science work differently in Eastern Europe? These and other questions will be discussed within the network. The launch will take place in Berlin on December 12th and 13th 2016.
More information:
The official website: http://www.cost.eu/COST_Actions/ca/CA15212?
Downloadable programme: http://cs-eu.net/