The aim of the national research contest “Auf die Plätze! Citizen Science in deiner Stadt” ( "On your marks! Citizen Science in your city") is to promote Citizen Science as a progressive approach in a local context and anchored in sustainability. Local actors from science and civil society who want to explore local concerns were invited to participate. The expert jury is responsible for selecting the 10 finalists as well as the three final winning projects which will be awarded € 50,000 to implement their ideas and activities.
"Auf die Plätze! Citizen Science in deiner Stadt " is organised by Wissenschaft im Dialog and the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin (MfN) in close cooperation with the Citizen Science platform Bürger schaffen Wissen.
Process
The contest invited stakeholders from civil society, local government and science to apply for funding. Of the participants, fifteen finalists and six prize winners will be awarded and their Citizen Science projects will be implemented by the end of 2024.
Scientific consultation and accompanying research at MfN
The MfN is responsible for providing scientific advice to the competition participants and researching the contest itself and its impact. Two research projects simultaneously deal with the competition as a research object. They research "Local Citizen Science Networks with Civil Society Participation" (Gesine Heinrich) and "Knowing Citizen Science. Concepts of Citizen Science, Modes of Knowledge Acquisition and Transfer in Citizen Science Projects" (Dr. Julie Sascia Mewes).
For more information visit the project website (in German only).