The Center for Citizen Science of the OeAD serves as an information, advisory and service center for Citizen Science. The aim of the center is to embed the citizen science approach in the scientific and educational landscape to enable participation in research processes. Through the active involvement of society and interaction with researchers, trust in science and democracy will be strengthened.
In order to achieve this, the center relies on the following pillars: Information, Funding & Awards, as well as Knowhow & Networking. A special focus lies on the cooperation between science and schools.
Information
We provide information through our four channels: Via the website www.zentrumfuercitizenscience.at, Twitter, Facebook and a monthly newsletter (10 times a year), researchers and those interested learn about current information on calls, workshops and conferences, publications and much more.
Funding & Awards
The research funding program "Sparkling Science 2.0" supports 34 citizen science projects with schools and other citizen scientists with 11.5 million euros. The annual research competition "Citizen Science Award" invites school classes, families and individuals to participate in research projects every year from April 1. Researchers can apply each fall with their Citizen Science projects to become part of the competition the following year.
Knowhow & Networking
To enable institutions to further educate themselves in the field of citizen science, we offer lectures on various topics that can be booked at any time. In addition, we coordinate the Alliance for Responsible Science, which advocates a rethinking of the research landscape, the working group "Citizen Science at/with schools" and a network of young and citizen science contact persons. These act as an interface between their own research institution, the OeAD and the general public.
Focus: Science & School Cooperation
Our focus has been on science and school collaboration since the beginning. Since 2019, we have been coordinating the working group "Citizen Science at/with schools", sharing expertise in workshops and lectures, and are responsible for the implementation of the research funding program Sparkling Science 2.0. In addition, we bring science education to schools with the "Young Science" initiatives.