As part of our Participation Lab commitment to co-producing knowledge for social change, we’re also really interested in the role that volunteers play in the collection and production of knowledge relating to social and environmental issues. One of our events this September is all about citizen science, an activity regularly defined as the participation of volunteers in professional science projects. In addition to probing the definition a little further, we also want to consider recent studies on motivations but also the costs and benefits of citizen science. You’re all warmly invited to attend.
Enthusiasm for Citizen Science: Taking stock of motivations, costs and benefits.
9th September 2016, University of Reading
It is often said that citizen science is growing as a field of practice, and with that comes a growing understanding of how citizen science can and should be used. At this event, we will be sharing best practice and current thinking on recent research surrounding motivations (of citizens, scientists, practitioners and policymakers) and the costs and benefits of citizen science. The event will introduce several research projects, including two recently funded by the UK Environmental Observation Framework (see http://www.ukeof.org.uk/our-work/citizen-science). Bringing together members of the BES Citizen Science SIG with representatives from monitoring agencies, this one-day event on ‘enthusiasm for citizen science’ will enable participants to take stock of recent research, share good practice and identify new directions and issues for citizen science research to consider.
Speakers
Hilary Geoghegan (Participation Lab, University of Reading), Alison Dyke (Stockholm Environment Institute, University of York), Gitte Kragh (University of Bournemouth), Michael Pocock (Centre for Ecology & Hydrology), other speakers/commentators to be confirmed
Location
University of Reading, Whiteknights Campus, URS Building, S2S21
WHEN: Friday, 9 September 2016 from 10:30 to 15:30 (BST)