Citizen Science in action. Collaborations between civil society and academia
June 5 and 6, 2025 at the University of Lausanne
CitSciHelvetia'25
Citizen Science Helvetia 2025 (CitSciHelvetia'25), the Swiss conference for citizen and participatory research will take place on June 5 and 6, 2025, at the University of Lausanne (UNIL). It will focus on "Citizen science in action. Collaborations between civil society and academia".
This year's event, initiated by the Science et Cité Foundation and supported by the Swiss Academies of Science and UNIL, is organized by the ColLaboratoire (UNIL's collaborative and participatory action research unit). We welcome contributions in one of the of the six thematic areas described below that relate to the challenges of collaboration between civil society and academic institutions.
The challenges facing our contemporary societies are mutliple and complex: biodiversity loss, climate disruption, damaged social ties, health challenges, and more. They call for collective responses drawing on the wealth of scientific, professional and experiential knowledge. The partnership between civil society and academia has never been more relevant.
In the past few years there has been a fundamental trend: citizen and participatory science projects are on the rise, demonstrating the importance of a new way of producing knowledge in the service of the common good. Though this dynamic is encouraging, partnerships between civil society and academia require special care and skills, as well as favorable institutional conditions that need to be reinforced.
Who can submit a proposal?
Are you a member of an NGO, an association, a foundation, a citizens' collective or a public institution? Are you a researcher in the natural and environmental sciences, human and social sciences, literature, law or economics? Are you involved in supporting, or facilitating citizen and participatory science? Are you new to the field or preparing to take action?
Your proposal is welcome!
Thematic areas
Six themes have been chosen in order to draw up a collective assessment of the issues facing civil society and academia in citizen and participatory science projects:
I. Meetings and partnerships
What are the conditions for successful partnerships between civil society and academia? When and how do these two worlds come together? What motivates people to take part in citizen and participatory science projects? What adjustments are needed in order to collaborate, cooperate and co-construct projects that are beneficial to all stakeholders?
II. Participation and commitment
What are the main current challenges facing citizen participation? How can we make the most of all the knowledge involved (scientific, professional, experiential)? How can we maintain community commitment over the long term?
III. Financing
What are effective financing strategies? What financing instruments do communities need? What are the roles of public and private donors? How can donor support be made sustainable?
IV. Communicating and promoting experience
Who are the target audiences and how can we adapt our communications? How can we promote our projects in a way that is relevant and accessible to as many people as possible? What experimental formats have been tested (video, photo, comic strip, co-writing, exhibition, performance, etc.)?
V. Arts-science collaboration and methodological innovation
How do various expectations and approaches coexist and converge? How do these collaborations transform the parties involved and the object of joint research? What are the added values of arts-science collaboration, and how can they be valued?
VI. Evaluation and policy advocacy
How can project results and their impact be assessed? What place should be given to learning? What roles should the various partners play in evaluation? How can citizen and participatory science count in local and national policies? How can we strengthen advocacy for citizen science, coordinated between civil society and academia, at a national level?
Contribution formats
3 contribution formats are possible:
- Presentations
- Workshops
- Posters
We encourage joint contributions from partners in civil society and academia.
1. Presentations
Presentations, lasting 15 minutes, will be grouped by theme. The usual media are welcome, as well as innovative ones (emblematic objects or artistic productions).
Contributions must be in line with the conference theme and its 6 thematic topics (see above).
2. Workshops
These are for collective activities, training courses or experiments. Workshop formats are free but must be interactive (World Café, fish bowl, Barcamps, creative thinking, moving debate, speed dating, photolanguage, etc.).
3. Posters and booths
Booths with posters/ interactive devices and/ objects will showcase the energy of citizen and participatory science in Switzerland. They can be presented by one or more partners. The aim will be to strengthen the inter-knowledge of practitioners of citizen and participatory science, and to initiate small-group discussions and meetings with:
- current citizen and participatory science projects
- research teams and support systems dedicated to citizen and participatory science: missions, members and activities of the group
- associations, foundations, municipalities, museums involved in citizen and participatory science projects, etc.: missions, team and activities
Instructions for online submissions
Proposals may be submitted in French, German or English.
Accepted proposals will receive a reduced-price ticket for the whole conference.
Participation is free for association representatives.
1. Presentations
Proposals, of no more than 1,000 characters (including spaces), must include:
- a title (max. 70 characters)
- an abstract.
Duration: 15 minutes
2. Workshops
Proposals of a maximum of 1,000 characters (including spaces), must include:
- title (max. 70 characters)
- description of the workshop's objectives (for you and for the participants)
- precise details of the format and how it will work
- your technical and material requirements
Duration : 1h30
Possibility of running the workshop in pairs
Format for up to 25 people.
3. Posters
Proposals must be no longer than 1,000 characters (including spaces) and must include:
- title (max 70 characters)
- description of the project's objectives or the roles and missions of the organization presented
- description of the presentation media (poster, interactive devices, emblematic objects, experiment or demonstration)
- your technical and material requirements
A useful poster design video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYk29tnxASs
We will examine all graphic proposals. Coaching will be offered to all poster submitters. Be creative!
Timetable and deadlines
Opening of submission platform: 07.10.24
Submission deadline: 30.11.24
Committee replies: 28.02.25
Contact
+41 (0)21 692 60 38