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Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Open Science UAB

Citizen Science

What is it?

The term "citizen engagement" (one of the dimensions of Responsible Research and Innovation) describes the different ways in which higher education and research can overcome the academic spaces and share them with the rest of society to obtain a mutual benefit. It is, therefor, a bidirectional process that does not only imply the dissemination of the scientific knowledge, but also the interaction between researchers and local communities with the aim to improve the research and teaching quality. 

And one of the tools to contribute to address territorial and global challenges promoting the collaboration between the general public, the public administrations, the civil society and the industry in the research projects implemented at UAB, is Citizen Science. 

Citizen Science has multiple difinitions, due to the fact that it is a very broad concept. One of the definitions is the one proposed by the European Commission (2020): 

[...] the voluntary participation of non-professional scientists in research and innovation at different stages of the process and at different levels of engagement, from shaping research agendas and policies, to gathering, processing and analysing data, and assessing the outcomes of research. 

You can consult useful resources to implement citizen science projects by checking: 

⇒ Before starting

⇒ Design and plan

⇒ Evaluate

⇒ Publish

Additional information