Community

Community building, for us, means facilitating the growth of an active group of academic researchers, citizen scientists, and partner organizations through diverse forms of interaction. Both in-person and online, we create opportunities to connect, engage, learn, and grow. Our ambition is for everyone to engage in highly participatory Citizen Science activities, be it as project organizers, contributors, or in other roles.

We encourage practitioners to share knowledge, expertise and experiences, and join forces across research groups, institutions, and research domains. We collaborate with major national and international Citizen Science networks, and are keen to build bridges between practitioners in Switzerland and beyond.

Our Citizen Science Community is growing, reaching across Zurich and beyond. This vibrant network consists of local academic researchers and citizen scientists, including members of University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, members of partner institutions such as the Zurich Senior University, members of the university research participant pools, as well as a wider network of contributors, partners and members.

Community activities include online and offline interactions, global and local events, all carried out in an open, creative, and interdisciplinary way.

Would you like to gain an insight into local Citizen Science communities and casually network? Visit our courses and other events.

Citizen Science is characterized by the collaboration of members of the general public ("citizens") and academic scientists with the purpose of pursuing new knowledge and insights together. A community of engaged academic and citizen scientists is an essential element of any Citizen Science project, and often a strong motivator for people to join.

By actively involving people with different backgrounds and expertise in the research process, Citizen Science expands the way of doing excellent science. This collaboration adds creativity, capacity and impact to the process of generating knowledge, and brings in innovative ideas and solutions to problems from different perspectives. It can, for instance, integrate local knowledge, new forms of expertise, and more diversity to scientific research — a collective benefit for society at large.

Numerous disciplines and fields use citizen science approaches in their work. Amidst this rapid expansion, fostering an environment where we can share and learn from each other’s experiences, successes and failures is paramount. Our services serve not only individual Citizen Science enthusiasts and teams, but also bring them together. Through our courses, digital platforms, and Seed Grant funding, we help create both informal and long-term communities. These communities help us stay connected and adapt to changing needs effectively.