Study presents the landscape of Citizen Science funding in the Social Sciences and Humanities

First deliverable of COESO project is available at Zenodo

LC
Lorena Caliman
18 august, 2021≈ 5 min read

The first research output of the COESO's project - Collaborative Engagement on Societal Issues - is available on Zenodo. The report, which provides a novel and revealing sketch of the landscape of funding schemes available for Citizen Science activities in the Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH), is based on an analysis of 105 funding entities around Europe, complemented by two online surveys and 10 interviews.

The study introduces a better understanding of the accessibility and diversity of current funding schemes, besides highlighting good practices, gaps and shortcomings from the perspective of both funded and funding bodies. The report outlines recommendations for a successful citizen science funding policy.

The preliminary study helps to identify the next steps to improve financial support for Citizen Science activities involving the Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) and can be read and downloaded through this link.

Among the main results, there are the following:

- Many researchers are unable to find funding calls for citizen science in social science and humanities disciplines.

- Funding opportunities for small scale and local projects are either too difficult to find or do not exist.

- Third sector organisations are an integral part of citizen science.

- Current funding policies base their distribution decisions on impact indicators, but both the concept of impact and its measurement are controversial. A critical review of research that fails to achieve these impacts and/or of current interpretations of these metrics is needed.

Some recommendations, based on the findings, for a successful funding policy for Citizen Science in the Social Sciences and Humanities, are also highlighted:

- Diversify funding schemes by promoting a wide variety of models that respond to the characteristics and needs of different geographical, cultural or socio-economic contexts. Make projects involved in large international partnerships with far-reaching global objectives possible, while promoting a wide and rich diversity of small projects and local networks.

- Promote and support the numerous third sector entities, both as recipients of funding for the realisation of their projects and as providers of funding that can promote other projects at various scales.

- Take into account the diversity of terms of reference, whether "citizen science" or "participatory research", depending on the country. The use of at least two different expressions in the same call (in the title, description, and/or in the keywords), according to different contexts, is necessary to connect and develop the interests of different actors.

- Promote alliances and networks, both between funding agencies and between funding recipients.

- Make communication regarding funding received or provided by corresponding organisations transparent and findable. Develop tools for locating funding opportunities at different levels taking into account the necessary diversity of funding schemes.

- Explicitly highlight the presence and value of Social Sciences and Humanities disciplines in multidisciplinary projects.

- Disseminate and continue to carry out studies on the various impacts of research in SSH with Citizen Science methodologies.

The study will serve as a basis for the next steps of the COESO project:

1. The development and implementation of an advocacy plan that aims to increase access to relevant funding opportunities.

2. The development of VERA (virtual environment for research activation), a platform for researchers and citizens to meet, collaborate and find project funding.

COESO is a 36-month project (2021-2023) funded by the European Commission and organised by a consortium of 15 partners from six European countries. The project is coordinated by EHESS - École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales - and includes 10 Citizen Science pilot projects.

COESO works in close collaboration with the OPERAS infrastructure, of which UC is a core member, to integrate the project into its platform.

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