The many Modes of Citizen Science

Abstract

Citizen science is currently heralded by proponents for science and policy in many ways. From a science policy perspective, citizen science is often brought forward as a remedy to 'alternative facts' and to general issues of trust in science and politics. In many cases citizen science has been promoted in sociotechnical imaginaries of creating the 'open society' by democratizing science, facilitating scientific literacy, often via digital technologies and networking Here, an imaginary from science policy has emerged, one wherein citizen science is meant to "enable citizens and citizen groups to participate in evidence-based policy and decision-making" (Lamy, 2017:19).