Trust in Citizen Science
01.01.2024
– 31.12.2026
Citizen science enables people from a wide variety of backgrounds, with diverse experiences and knowledge, to conduct research together. This brings new perspectives and opportunities to science. However, it also presents challenges. How can we foster a trusting collaboration despite all these differences? How is this approach to research perceived within the scientific community and by the general public? These and other questions are the focus of the collaborative project „Trust in Citizen Science“ (TiCS), a partnership between the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin (MfN), the Technical University of Braunschweig, and LMU Munich. The project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology, and Space.
An increasing number of scientific research projects are emerging through collaboration between experts and interested citizens. The range of topics being researched with public participation extends from birdwatching to health and urban space research, and even to historical studies. The Museum für Naturkunde Berlin has made it its mission to promote and further develop citizen science. This is achieved through a variety of practical and research projects focused on participation and co-creation.
Trust plays a role in citizen science at various levels. A common expectation is that enabling public participation will strengthen public trust in science. Within individual citizen science projects, relationships and practices of trust shape the cooperation between participating actors from the scientific community and the broader society. Furthermore, the recognition of citizen science as a research approach serves as an ongoing point of reference in both discourse and program design. The TiCS project partners are examining related questions at these various levels and are engaged in a dialogue between research and practice.
Funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology, and Space.