Project description
When scientists listen to the public
Creating research that is both accessible and acceptable to the public means scientific activity should not be conducted only at universities or research centres. Volunteers (non-scientific) should also participate in research projects. Known as crowd science, this approach contributes ideas and solutions to issues being researched. The EU-funded CROWDKNOW project will work to ensure citizens’ inputs are not ignored. It will measure the preferences and costs of scientists for engaging in crowd input and define relevant incentives for scientists to increase their engagement in crowd science projects. The project will also explore the characteristics of scientists who engage with citizens. This will show how important it is for scientists to be trained to interact with the public.
Objective
For decades, scientific activity has been firmly anchored in universities, research centres, or specialized firms’ R&D departments leading to science being considered an Ivory Tower endeavour. Making science more accessible and acceptable to the larger public is one focus of the European Commission. One possible way to achieve this goal is through crowd science, an approach that allows a wide base of (non-scientific) volunteers to participate in research projects. The potential benefit of crowd science is vast, for example, the contribution of ideas and solution by the public can widen the range of research questions that can be addressed and it can increase the acceptance of scientific findings and literacy of science in the society.
While the benefit of crowd science is substantial, the vital step to reap this benefit is that scientists pick up on citizens’ suggestions and actually pursue these ideas by transforming them into research projects. Many citizens’ inputs go unaddressed because their relevance is undervalued or not recognized by scientists who are trained to interact with peers rather than layman. This can lead to a loss of valuable knowledge and might discourage citizens to contribute to crowd projects in the future. The first step to mitigate this problem is to understand what type of knowledge scientists pick up, what type of scientist participates in such endeavours and how policy can encourage further scientists in doing so. This project employs an adaptive choice-based conjoint (ACBC) analysis to (i) measure the preferences and costs of scientists to engage in crowd input and quantifies the pick-up rate of citizens’ inputs by scientists, (ii) delineates the scientists’ characteristics that engage with citizens, and (iii) defines relevant incentives for scientists to increase their engagement in crowd science projects to derive policy measures that render future crowd science actions more successful.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
-
H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme -
H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
See all projects funded under this programme
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2020
See all projects funded under this callCoordinator
Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
3000 LEUVEN
Belgium
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.