Buergerschaffenwissen.de – The Online Platform for Citizen Science in Germany
Citizen science brings civic commitment and research together. Scientists cooperating with volunteers is a well-proven concept. The ongoing boom demonstrates that the participatory approach works in various fields of research. As an international competence centre, the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin promotes citizen science.
In cooperation with Wissenschschaft im Dialog (Science in Dialogue), we run the German online platform. Currently, about 130 citizen science projects present their activities and invite volunteers to participate. The projects can be searched by topic and location, so that interested people can find "their" citizen science project.
Through buergerschaffenwissen.de and social media we inform the public, connect scientific partners and interest groups and present research on Citizen Science, for instance on quality criteria.
Diversity of Citizen Science in Germany
The German citizen science community is diverse in approaches and objectives: classic concepts in the field of natural sciences (e.g. naturalist monitoring) are supplemented by innovative methods in the humanities. And the community is growing: about two new citizen science projects join buergerschaffenwissen.de every month.
Our team is involved in ongoing science-policy developments. Recent milestones include:
- Publishing a Citizen Science Strategy 2020 for Germany
- Providing a guide for citizen science practitioners
- Organizing the annual Forum Citizen Science Germany
Cooperation
Wissenschaft im Dialog (WiD)