2. 3
Participation
participation is often used
in a very general fashion
Almost presented as
an end in itself
without any critical discussion of the
precise aims and the methods to be
used to achieve these
‘buzz word’
embraces a wide
range of possible
meanings
Public participation is often
used interchangeably with
public engagement, many
other terms
congruent definitions do not exist
Misunderstandings
and disappointed
expectations
unclear or not well-
defined objectives
3. 4
• Participatory or engagement processes describe an entire process of public
participation, which includes formats and instruments of participation
They can vary in extent and volume
• Formats are the methodological frame of the process: Multi stakeholder
workshops, planning cell, citizen panel, Open Space, Focus Groups etc
• Instruments/techniques are for example: Metaplan, Brain Walk, Fish Bowl,
walkshops etc
• Tools: (online format, miro, ZOOM, IT consultation tools, etc.)
• Engagement is by definition a two-way process, involving interactions and
listening, with the goal of generating mutual benefit
Definitions and specifications
West and Pateman,2016
4. 5
Degree of Participation
The product of breadth of participation
(=proportion of participants of all actors) and
depth of participation
(quality and intensity of participation)
(Dautzenberg, 2014)
7. 8
Engagement is usually categorized in:
• Passive contributors (Crowdsourcing): Where citizens and stakeholders mainly
suggest tasks, participate in some brainstorming ideas and generally, have an outsider
role in the CSI.
• Contributory (Distributed Intelligence): Projects where scientists design the project
and participants are involved in collecting and analyzing data according to predefined
protocols.
• Collaborative (Participatory Science): Projects where participants may also be
involved in adjusting protocols, drawing conclusions, and proposing new directions for
the research.
• Co-creating (Extreme Citizen Science): projects include citizens in all stages of the
CSI, scientists and citizens collectively design and develop the initiative.
Source: D 1.1 p 73
10. 11
People are key
No citizen science without citizen scientists
Motivations, needs, relevance for the
participants
Attention to participant management and
evaluation
Stakeholder/participant engagement plan -
outline who your participants are, why you
need to engage them, how you will engage
them, and what outcomes you are aiming for
CITIZENS ARE
RESEARCH
11. 12
• Be clear about the purpose of participatory approaches as an essential first step
towards managing expectations and guiding implementation
• Make benefits and value for participants clear
• Be explicit about who will be involved, and why, when and how
• All participants should receive full and clear information about the aims of research
and its likely impacts
• Which promises to the participants should be communicated accordingly
• Provide opportunities for participants to become more (or in other ways) involved in
a citizen science project if they want to be
• Offer opportunities to become more engaged, for example, through interaction in
an online forum, by becoming a moderator or trainer, or in small-scale workshops
on data interpretation or policy involvement
• The preference of participants for a certain level of engagement depends largely on
their motivation to participate
Pre-requisites
West and Pateman,2016
12. 13
• Project planning (Clear expectations, meaningful tasks (tasks which appeal
different motivations, clear monitoring and evaluation plan)
• Awarenes of the SCI and the decicision to participate (advertise to different
groups via different means, use gatekeepers, consider „taster sessions“)
• Initial participation (match persons to roles, find out motivations)
• Sustained participation (regular communication, feedback, provide opportunities
to interact with each other
• Finish particiation (allow for feedback and integrate insights)
Stages of the participation journey
West and Pateman,2016
14. 15
Co-creation
• Originating in the design sphere
• Increasingly extended to other spheres – increasing public participation in collective decision
making processes
• however, fully co-created projects are still rare
• The majority of citizen science projects rely on participation only for the collection, and
sometimes the analysis
• Not all citizen science projects are intended to achieve in-depth public participation but
“evidence suggests that research results can be significantly shaped by the degree and
quality of public participation in project design” (Shirk et al. 2012).
• Recent studies highlight a motivational framework for volunteers that exceeds data collection
• Use advantage to address “wicked” (multifaceted) problems
• Enabling a common arena where everyone contributes based on their own expertise
15. 16
Key issues and requirements
• Iterative and reflexive steps
• importance of addressing real-world problems and issues
• establish mechanisms for co-defining these problems and issues
• enable the recognition of explicit values and interests of partners that emerge during
the initial phases
• Shared language
• Visual thinking/design approaches (diagrams, canvases…gamification techniques
• leave as much information as possible in a shared (physical) space and capture results
of discussions (Miro, flipcharts, posters, sticky notes…)
• Participatory methodologies to achieve cooperative governance of the project
• Adequate communication and interaction channels
Are all partners equal?
How do researchers change their usual routines to
integrate other stakeholders’ agendas and habits?
How can the research team be reflexive?
Is it useful to be able to take a step back and evaluate
how each other’s expectations are reached?
Writing down common rules about governance and
knowledge sharing can be a first step
16. 17
Central Role: Moderation – facilitator
• Person responsible for carrying out a well-planned, independent, and neutral facilitation
during group sessions
• improving the efficiency and quality of the outcomes and the well-being of participants
• create the necessary conditions for equitable and free speaking
• take care of the different knowledge levels
• support collective decision-making mechanisms
skilled staff, capable in addressing group dynamics, experience in multi stakeholder
processes, work with heterogeneous teams
17. 18
Conclusion: 10 most important tips
• Define a clear strategy(ies) for your CS and stakeholder engagement groups
• Involve all relevant CS and stakeholders in your CSI from the beginning
• Set aside time and resources to communicate with your participants
• Carefully choose the right language
• Use suitable methods and communication channels
• Find appropriate venues and times for workshops and meetings
• Engagement is also about listening
• Find a mutual benefit of the engagement process
• Share all the information related to your CSI with your CSs, stakeholders and a wider
audience
See D 1.1. p 90
18. 19
Literature
Bonney, R., Ballard, H. L., Jordan, R., McCallie, E., Phillips, T., Shirk, J., & Wilderman, C. C. (2009). Public participation in scientific
research: Defining the field and assessing its potential for informal science education: A CAISE inquiry group report.
https://www.informalscience.org/sites/default/files/PublicParticipationinScientificResearch.pdf.
Deliverable 1.1. (2021) Scoping Tools and Support Materials, Perucca Iannitelli Carla, Salas Seoane Nora
Dautzenberg, K. (2014, December). Handlungsempfehlungen Strategischer Dialog ‘Partizipation in Forschung und Innovation’.
Dokumentation. Ramboli Management Consulting GmbH.
Marschalek, ilse. (2018). Public Engagement in Responsible Research and Innovation. A Critical Reflection from the Practitioner’s Point
of View. Saarbrücken: Südwestdeutscher Verlag für Hochschulschriften.
Shirk, J., Ballard, H., Wilderman, C., Phillips, T., Wiggins, A., Jordan, R., et al. (2012). Public
participation in scientific research: A framework for deliberate design. Ecology and Society, 17 (2), 29. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-04705-
170229.
Socientize Consortium. (2014). White Paper on Citizen Science: Citizen Science for Europe, Towards a better society of empowered
citizens and enhanced research. [Deliverable]. Socientize project. http://www.socientize.eu/sites/default/files/white-paper_0.pdf
Vohland, K., Land-Zandstra, A., Ceccaroni, L., Lemmens, R., Perelló, J., Ponti, M., Samson, R., & Wagenknecht, K. (Eds.). (2021). The
science of citizen science. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-58278-4
West, S and Pateman, R 2016 Recruiting and Retaining Participants in Citizen Science: What Can Be Learned from the Volunteering
Literature? Citizen Science: Theory and Practice, 1(2): 15, pp. 1–10, DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/cstp.8
