Researching together: Citizens shape the science of the future

In an exciting initiative, the role of citizens in science is increasingly being strengthened! The active participation of the population in research projects, also known as citizen science, is becoming increasingly important. According to Deputy Governor Stephan Pernkopf (ÖVP), citizens help as researchers, for example by taking part in bird counts or as test subjects in studies. This not only promotes understanding of scientific processes, but also improves the data available for research noen.at reported.

This innovative participation in science has the potential to overcome fundamental societal challenges. In Germany, a total of 28 citizen science projects were supported between 2021 and 2024 with a funding volume of around 9 million euros. Projects like “Be WIZZARD,” which deals with long-term care in rural regions, or “CS:iDrop,” where citizens analyze their drinking water, show the diverse benefits of citizen research. In addition, citizen science enables people to strengthen their “scientific maturity” through direct insight into scientific work, which is supported by information from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). bmbf.de explained.