Page 19 - InnoRenew CoE International Conference 2023
P. 19
Evaluating the potential of citizen science in transition to
a more sustainable society
Frane Adam1, Maruša Gorišek2*, Anja Pogladič3
1 Institute for developmental and strategic analysis, Dunajska 113, 1000 Ljubljana, frane.adam@guest.arnes.si
2 Institute for developmental and strategic analysis, Dunajska 113, 1000 Ljubljana, Faculty of information studies, Ljubljanska 311, 8000 Novo mesto,
marusa.gorisek@fis.unm.si
3 Institute for developmental and strategic analysis, Dunajska 113, 1000 Ljubljana, anja.pogladic94@gmail.com
* Corresponding author
Transitioning to a more sustainable society is not only a matter of scientific discoveries but requires systematic
cooperation between governments, science, research institutions, and the wider society. The recent pandemic
shows that those relationships are complicated and multi-dimensional. Aside from the scientification of society
and the reflexive socialization of science, we can observe strong opposition to science by some social groups
with rising general distrust in science, which renders difficult the acceptance of scientific and technological
sustainability innovations.
Some authors (Sauermann et al., 2020) see the concept of Citizen Science (CS) as having the potential to help
address sustainability problems by increasing scientific production and bridging the gap between science and
broader society. In this sense, we can also see CS as a good counterweight to conspiracy theories and the lack of
trust in science (Adam and Gorišek, 2022). Others (Fraisl et al., 2020) mention that CS is already contributing
to a more sustainable society by collecting data needed to monitor sustainable development indicators. However,
all of this depends on how participants are involved in CS projects, what their impact is on the research process
and how they communicate with scientists. This contribution addresses this dilemma, discusses the concept of
CS in a wider socio-scientific context and warns of methodological ambiguities and insufficient consideration of
similar concepts and models, which are especially characteristic of some branches of social sciences.
While CS has great potential, there are also risks in the sense of dilution of research and scientific activity.
We emphasize the need to focus on greater interdisciplinarity and improving dialogue between disciplines,
finding ways of resolving conflicts and different opinions and interpretations. This leads to greater utilization of
knowledge, optimization of research findings, and consequently towards a more sustainable society.
Keywords: citizen science, sustainability, interdisciplinarity, sociology of science, science society relationships
Acknowledgement: The authors gratefully acknowledge receiving funding from Slovenian Research Agency
(grant number P5-0342).
REFERENCES
Adam, F., Gorišek, M., 2022. Towards Sustained and Sustainable Management of COVID-19: An Alternative
to the Simplified Return to Pre-Pandemic “Normality’’. Sustainability 14, 10789. https://doi.org/10.3390/
su141710789
Fraisl, D., Campbell, J., See, L., Wehn, U., Wardlaw, J., Gold, M., Moorthy, I., Arias, R., Piera, J., Oliver, J.L., 2020.
Mapping citizen science contributions to the UN sustainable development goals. Sustainability Science 15,
1735–1751.
Sauermann, H., Vohland, K., Antoniou, V., Balázs, B., Göbel, C., Karatzas, K., Mooney, P., Perelló, J., Ponti, M.,
Samson, R., Winter, S., 2020. Citizen science and sustainability transitions. Research Policy 49, 103978.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2020.103978
13–14 SEPTEMBER 2023 I IZOLA, SLOVENIA 19
a more sustainable society
Frane Adam1, Maruša Gorišek2*, Anja Pogladič3
1 Institute for developmental and strategic analysis, Dunajska 113, 1000 Ljubljana, frane.adam@guest.arnes.si
2 Institute for developmental and strategic analysis, Dunajska 113, 1000 Ljubljana, Faculty of information studies, Ljubljanska 311, 8000 Novo mesto,
marusa.gorisek@fis.unm.si
3 Institute for developmental and strategic analysis, Dunajska 113, 1000 Ljubljana, anja.pogladic94@gmail.com
* Corresponding author
Transitioning to a more sustainable society is not only a matter of scientific discoveries but requires systematic
cooperation between governments, science, research institutions, and the wider society. The recent pandemic
shows that those relationships are complicated and multi-dimensional. Aside from the scientification of society
and the reflexive socialization of science, we can observe strong opposition to science by some social groups
with rising general distrust in science, which renders difficult the acceptance of scientific and technological
sustainability innovations.
Some authors (Sauermann et al., 2020) see the concept of Citizen Science (CS) as having the potential to help
address sustainability problems by increasing scientific production and bridging the gap between science and
broader society. In this sense, we can also see CS as a good counterweight to conspiracy theories and the lack of
trust in science (Adam and Gorišek, 2022). Others (Fraisl et al., 2020) mention that CS is already contributing
to a more sustainable society by collecting data needed to monitor sustainable development indicators. However,
all of this depends on how participants are involved in CS projects, what their impact is on the research process
and how they communicate with scientists. This contribution addresses this dilemma, discusses the concept of
CS in a wider socio-scientific context and warns of methodological ambiguities and insufficient consideration of
similar concepts and models, which are especially characteristic of some branches of social sciences.
While CS has great potential, there are also risks in the sense of dilution of research and scientific activity.
We emphasize the need to focus on greater interdisciplinarity and improving dialogue between disciplines,
finding ways of resolving conflicts and different opinions and interpretations. This leads to greater utilization of
knowledge, optimization of research findings, and consequently towards a more sustainable society.
Keywords: citizen science, sustainability, interdisciplinarity, sociology of science, science society relationships
Acknowledgement: The authors gratefully acknowledge receiving funding from Slovenian Research Agency
(grant number P5-0342).
REFERENCES
Adam, F., Gorišek, M., 2022. Towards Sustained and Sustainable Management of COVID-19: An Alternative
to the Simplified Return to Pre-Pandemic “Normality’’. Sustainability 14, 10789. https://doi.org/10.3390/
su141710789
Fraisl, D., Campbell, J., See, L., Wehn, U., Wardlaw, J., Gold, M., Moorthy, I., Arias, R., Piera, J., Oliver, J.L., 2020.
Mapping citizen science contributions to the UN sustainable development goals. Sustainability Science 15,
1735–1751.
Sauermann, H., Vohland, K., Antoniou, V., Balázs, B., Göbel, C., Karatzas, K., Mooney, P., Perelló, J., Ponti, M.,
Samson, R., Winter, S., 2020. Citizen science and sustainability transitions. Research Policy 49, 103978.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2020.103978
13–14 SEPTEMBER 2023 I IZOLA, SLOVENIA 19
