Abstract

Despite the growing importance attributed to open science and citizen science in European research policies, there is still room to raise more awareness of the value of these alternative science methodologies within local and regional research communities, and room to improve support. Organizations such as Scivil (the Flemish knowledge center for citizen science) were launched with these goals (among others), and their research indicates that scientists still have a great need for support when starting up their own citizen science projects. (1)

Having established a Citizen Science Contact Point at Vrije Universiteit Brussel about one year ago to meet these needs of visibility, support and stimulation of citizen science, we are looking to explore possible approaches and exchange experiences on the matter of citizen science within research management and administration (RMA). Throughout the past year, our experiences in operating a contact point and launching an institutionally funded citizen science project call have already taught us valuable lessons. Whereas the contact point can offer methodological support on citizen science, there is still a lot of existing expertise with colleagues within the RMA departments, working e.g. in tech transfer and valorization, research data management, research funding, the legal and ethical departments, etc. This existing knowledge mainly needs to be integrated when it comes to stimulating and supporting citizen science research projects. But this situation brings along challenges concerning efficient workflows and the confusion of responsibilities.

One thing at least is certain: increased collaboration between departments at RPOs can only improve the level of support offered by our institutions throughout all phases of citizen science projects. As a result, this heightened collaboration can contribute greatly to the recognition and consideration of citizen science by researchers. But how to go about this? Can existing models or frameworks for fruitful interdepartmental exchange of RMA expertise be applied, or does citizen science require new perspectives? If we want to join forces for optimal citizen science support and to promote a culture that allows citizen science to be more frequently embedded in project proposals, which RMA approach works best?

During this discussion table session, our goal is to encourage a spontaneous exchange between RMAs with different backgrounds and expertise in institutional (participatory) research policy and support. We hope to add value to the conversation through examples of successful cases or encountered issues. This will allow participants to distill valuable lessons and best practices when it comes to collaboration in function of citizen science in RMA. The aim is to formulate key takeaways with each group, which we can all apply to improve citizen science support at our institutions.

(1) Duerinckx, A., Hens, C, Kerckhoffs, S, Van Laer, J., Verstraelen, K. (2021) Citizen science and Flemish scientists: evolutions in knowledge, opinions and attitudes. Scivil, Leuven, Belgium. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.5825397