GRACE · GRAssroots Citizen science for global data Environments

GRAssroots Citizen science for global data Environments

The GRACE fellowship is about how grassroots citizen scientists in East Asia, Western Europe, and Central Africa mobilize new data technologies to tackle environmental threats; and how public authorities and research communities respond to citizen-generated environmental data and data practices. It seeks to develop original governance approaches that facilitate interaction between these stakeholders towards global environmental sustainability. We are presently witnessing an explosion of grassroots citizen science initiatives covering a wide range of pressing environmental issues, such as air pollution. Increasingly, these initiatives take the form of community-driven practices that facilitate citizen engagement with scientific tools and data to address real-world problems. As these grassroots networks grow, they potentially reconfigure relations between science and society. Using their own technologies (e.g., self-assembled air quality monitoring devices), citizens in these networks initiate contextual learning about their habitats and involve broader publics in the definition of problems, data collection, and analysis; while increasing pressure on public authorities and scientists to open up science and science policymaking to society. The research project takes these observations as its entry points to assess how grassroots citizen scientists in different world regions tackle environmental threats; and how formal institutions respond to citizen-led practices. With concerned stakeholders, it addresses the challenges that emerge in these processes with the aim of developing mutually responsive environmental data governance approaches. While the public adoption of mobile technologies could help to facilitate more inclusive and effective science governance, the benefits of citizen engagement with digital technologies cannot be assumed. Scientists recurrently express concerns about the scientific quality of data produced by citizens and the value these data have, as most citizens lack formal scientific training. Many citizen scientists voice criticism of the close links between science, industry and government. It is hence unclear how the advent of grassroots citizen science will affect global environmental governance. This study seeks to examine the challenges at hand to strengthen and develop the connections between citizen-driven approaches and institutional imperatives in the governance of environmental problems.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз