Citizen science

We aim to become a world-leading hub for the advancement of citizen science that is ethical and methodologically rigorous. We will become a one-stop-shop for citizen science projects led by academics and researchers at the University of Sydney and their affiliates.

Through our node, the public will be empowered to share their knowledge and experiences in the practice of citizen science projects and also generate new research questions that can be answered through citizen science. We will harness and coordinate current and future citizen science projects and provide a transformative platform for strategic interweaving of University research with citizens from the Western Sydney community we are joining.

Citizen science brings diverse disciplines and researchers together to achieve the common goal of accelerating research outcomes with more widely understood impact. Collectively, our team has undertaken many studies around identifying and addressing the multidimensional aspects of citizen science and public participation, engagement and involvement in research.

The project node members are from an array of disciplines such as environmental science, health, science, engineering, and information science. The combined expertise of our team enables an outstanding collaborative network for cross-disciplinary outputs and a remarkable opportunity for transformative publications and education.

Citizen science places the proposed beneficiaries of our work at the centre of the research translation continuum. We aim to engage members of the public in the research process as early as possible; not as afterthoughts or merely as research subjects.

Citizen science empowers members of the public to collaborate with, and indeed lead researchers in, generating ideas, conducting research and implementing findings. Unusual research collaborations often lead to unexpected outcomes. Working with citizen science will enhance the diversity of thought embedded in our research teams and have the potential to accelerate transformative outcomes for health and quality of life in Australia and beyond.

Joint publications to promote citizen science and principles of citizen science in response to COVID-19

• Citizen science: how you can contribute to coronavirus research without leaving the house [more]
• Aged care visitor guidelines balance residents’ rights and coronavirus risk – but may be hard to implement [more]
• Moving beyond lockdown: how might citizen action help tackle the public health crisis? [more]

• We are recognised as 'the hub' for citizen science locally and nationally where researchers and citizen scientists within and beyond the University of Sydney come together in pursuit of advancing science through the engagement and involvement of the community in research. There has been growing membership of research students, early-mid career and senior researchers across >13 disciplines - 38 members from three universities and 4 citizen scientists)
• Building citizen science capacity and collaboration through bi-monthly Ideas Exchange, Citizen science website development titled "Citizen Science Connect", improving citizen science literacy, and collaborative grant submissions with local and international collaborators

• Dr Naseem Ahmadpour
• Professor Angus Dawson
• Associate Professor James Gillespie
• Associate Professor Rosanne Quinnell
• Dr Phillip Gough
• Dr Aaron Greenville
• Professor Penny Hawe
• Professor Yun-Hee Jeon (Project Node Leader)
• Professor Phillip Poronnik
• Dr Samantha Rowbotham
• Associate Professor Peter Rutledge
• Associate Professor Charlotte Taylor
• Professor Emeritus Mike Thompson
• Dr Ayesha Tulloch
• Professor Glenda Wardle
• Dr Alice Motion (Project Node Co-leader)