The staff members of the OeAD Center for Citizen Science contribute their expertise to different national and international working groups (WGs) and thus contribute to the further development and bundling of citizen science know-how. Currently, the OeAD Center for Citizen Science is involved in two national and two international WGs, one of which is coordinated by the Center for Citizen Science.
The working groups
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WG "Citizen Science at/with schools"
1. The working group
The working group "Citizen Science at/with schools" led by the OeAD Center for Citizen Science is part of the Citizen Science Network Austria. Its founding meeting took place during the 5th Austrian Citizen Science Conference (June 26-28, 2019) in Obergurgl, Tyrol. The members consist of researchers and teachers from various research and educational institutions. In addition, there is an international exchange with the working group Citizen Science in Schulen of the German platform "Bürger schaffen Wissen".
2. The citizen science brochure
The members of the WG developed the handout "Citizen Science - Research with Schools. Basics, recommendations & practical tips for joint projects", which was published by OeAD in September 2021. Important topics addressed in the brochure are e.g. the added value of citizen science as well as numerous information on project planning and implementation. The target group of the brochure are teachers and researchers who are interested in collaborating in citizen science projects.
The web version can be found HERE (pdf) or on the open science platform Zenodo.
3. Upcoming projects
In order for citizen science to find its way into schools to an even greater extent, further support is needed for those involved in science and education. Starting in the fall of 2023, materials will be developed to facilitate the integration of citizen science into the classroom.
4. Contact
If you are interested in joining the working group, please contact elisabeth.schauermann@oead.at.
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WG for cooperation in the German-speaking area (D-A-CH)
1. Mission and objectives of the working group
The aim of the working group is to intensify the cooperation in the German-speaking area, to use synergies, to exchange best practices and to establish short ways of (informal) exchange. The goals are:
- the expansion of personal contacts and the establishment of closer cooperations
- the identification and setting of common focal points
- the facilitation of trilateral project consortia and the initiation of concrete projects
- the further development of citizen science in terms of content and quality in German-speaking countries
- a strengthened and more uniform appearance of citizen science in the international arena
2. Priorities in 2023
The D-A-CH WG is planning the following joint activities for 2023:
- Citizen Science conferences: There is potential for synergy in the national conferences held in both Germany, Austria and Switzerland, which can be exploited to an even greater extent. In 2023, members of the D-A-CH AG are represented in the respective other conference committees.
- At the ÖCSK 2023, the D-A-CH WG was actively involved with a joint workshop on "Mentoring under a DACH". In this way, the D-A-CH WG is following up on the jointly explored topic of a "mentoring program" and is examining the potential and feasibility of a cross-national offering for the citizen science community.
- Training offers: In the area of "Training", the D-A-CH WG 2023 will address the topics "Open Data in Citizen Science" and "Digital Ethics". Corresponding digital events are planned and carried out jointly. As a kick-off of the Open Data series, the Webinar "Open Data in Citizen Science Projects" (in German) - the recording is online - took place. In addition, the D-A-CH WG plans to process the findings in the form of a guide or similar.
3. Members
The members of the D-A-CH WG work at universities and research institutions or are otherwise active as actors in the context of citizen science. They come from the following institutions, among others:
- Österreich forscht / Universität für Bodenkultur Wien (BOKU)
- OeAD – Zentrum für Citizen Science
- Schweiz forscht / Science et Cité
- Partizipative Wissenschaftsakademie (Universität Zürich/ ETH Zürich)
- Bürger schaffen Wissen (Berlin) (Wissenschaft im Dialog & Museum für Naturkunde Berlin)
- WWU Münster
- Friedrich-Schiller Universität Jena
- Leibniz-Institut für Deutsche Sprache (Mannheim)
- open science for open societies - os4os gUG
4. Contact
Austria:
- Daniel Dörler: daniel.doerler[at]boku.ac.at
- Florian Heigl: florian.heigl[at]boku.ac.at
Switzerland:
- Tiina Stämpfli: tiina.staempfli[at]science-et-cite.ch
- Olivia Höhener: olivia.hoehener[at]uzh.ch
Germany:
- Wiebke Brink: info[at]buergerschaffenwissen.de
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WG for quality criteria
The working group was founded at the platform meeting of Österreich forscht on March 1, 2017, in order to create criteria for the future that are as objective, comprehensible and, above all, publicly visible as possible. This comprises project leaders and partners of Österreich forscht. The working group is headed by Florian Heigl and Daniel Dörler.
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Citizen Science Networks
The European Citizen Science Association (ECSA) working group is composed of representatives of established and new citizen science networks. The first goal of the working group was to develop criteria to help networks decide in a transparent and impartial way whether a project should be listed on online citizen science platforms or not. This should also make projects more comparable between networks. In October 2022, the process of jointly developing these criteria with citizen scientists, practitioners and project coordinators was successfully completed. The criteria, the associated preamble, guidelines and an overview of the development process can be downloaded on Zenodo.
The new goal of the working group is to exchange experiences on the coordination of a Citizen Science network or platform.