The UAB passed its Citizen Science Hub Action Plan for the years 2024 and 2025 in a collaborative working session with the participation of some key actors from the UAB, CREAF, the B30 Hub and the Government of Catalonia. The plan contemplates actions such as the creation of a guide, the organisation of face-to-face meetings and training courses.
The INCENTIVE project, funded by the European Union through the Horizon 2020 programme, ending next 31 January 2024, was the starting point to promote the creation of the UAB Citizen Science Hub, a tool to connect people and institutions that want to participate in citizen science projects, provide resources, and facilitate the development of new initiatives.
The UAB has passed the Citizen Science Hub Action Plan for the years 2024 and 2025 in a collaborative working session, held this past October, with the participation of some key actors from UAB, CREAF, the B30 Hub and the Government of Catalonia. This action plan focuses on different initiatives to increase citizen participation and promote collaboration between different stakeholders.
Key actions
The UAB Citizen Science Hub Action Plan will conduct several key actions. First, the framework for the application of citizen science will be established. A guide will be created to provide research staff, students, technical, management, administration and services staff, public administrations, schools, civil society and the general public with a clear vision of the resources and services that are essential for the successful implementation of citizen science projects.
Another key action envisioned by the plan is the organisation of face-to-face sessions with the citizen science community to recognise the importance of direct participation. These events will be designed to cultivate dialogue, share information and strengthen the collaborative spirit between research staff and the participatory citizenry.
Training activities will also be carried out. For research personnel in training, the course "Citizen science: integrating citizen participation in doctoral projects" will be included in the annual offer of transversal training of the Doctoral School. This short course will emphasise the integration of citizen participation in research. Moreover, in recognition of the integral role of public administration, the Citizen Science Hub will also facilitate specialised training sessions for government professionals to learn about the principles and benefits of citizen science, with the aim of promoting an environment open to collaborations between academia and public institutions.
Citizen science
The term citizen participation, one of the dimensions of responsible research and innovation, describes the different ways in which higher education and research can transcend academic spaces and be shared with the rest of society for mutual benefit. It is, therefore, a two-way process that not only involves the dissemination of scientific knowledge, but also the interaction between scientists and local communities with the aim of improving the quality of research and education. In this way, citizen science is one of the tools to contribute to solving territorial and global challenges by fostering collaboration between the general public, public administrations, civil society and industry in UAB research projects.
