Science Advice Note: How can policy making be improved by citizen science?

Rapid projects support government departments to understand the scientific evidence underpinning a policy issue or area by convening academic, industry and government experts at a single roundtable.

The summary meeting notes seek to provide accessible science advice for policymakers.

The Government Office for Science recently published a science advice note on how policy making can be improved by citizen science (CS).

The note summarises an expert roundtable held in April 2023, covering what citizen science is (doing science with citizens rather than for them), and barriers and solutions to involving citizen scientists in policy making.

Key points include:

• Citizen Science (CS) means doing science with citizens rather than for them. It is more than data collection, and more than “public engagement”.  

• CS can advance science: new fields of research have directly emerged from citizen science studies, as have refined methodologies and protocols.  

• Genuine participation in CS has proven impacts on individuals and communities. Using new CS models may allow involvement of groups previously unengaged with civic processes.  

• There are significant hurdles in commissioning CS work from the policy professional perspective. Policy makers are often not aware of how to engage with communities or organisations. There is risk aversion towards CS. 

• To ensure policy impacts, CS projects must be designed to that end. Efforts should be made to improve collaborative opportunities between citizen scientists and policy makers.  

Click here to read the advice note