The Association for Advancing Participatory Sciences (AAPS) believes there is considerable value to be drawn from participatory sciences––for both science and society––and we strive to be the go-to organization to support both leaders and learners in this field. AAPS works to find opportunities to expand scientific discoveries and impacts, to rethink who gets to participate in and benefit from science, and to reimagine what is possible for communities, equitable research partnerships and action-oriented science. And, our role is to help spotlight what is working as well as what is not.
As AAPS Board Chair, I am interested in finding ways to unlock the vast untapped potential for communities and individuals to contribute to and benefit from the expansive field of participatory sciences–from biodiversity to disaster response and prevention, from monitoring environmental pollution to conducting human health studies, from space exploration and astronomy to agriculture and forestry, and more. For more than 10 years, AAPS has engaged practitioners from many related traditions, including crowdsourced science, volunteer monitoring, community-engaged research, participatory research, citizen science and many more. Participatory sciences combine the strengths of scientific inquiry with the knowledge, insights and observations of communities and individuals.
AAPS, as an advocate for the participatory sciences, encourages sharing of effective practices through our annual CAPS conference (Conference for Advancing Participatory Sciences) and open-access journal (Citizen Science: Theory and Practice). We highlight a broad range of practices, and the traditions they emerge from, and build on the strength of these practices.
I believe that AAPS has a responsibility to point out concerns and potential problem areas in the field. A number of AAPS members have raised concerns (both legal and policy issues) with recent state-level legislation that limits the use of community science data. The AAPS Board has approved a position statement (below) that expresses our serious concerns with the 2024 Louisiana legislation that undermines community air monitoring.
Our intent is that APPS play a constructive leadership role in helping states and other organizations support community air monitoring and other valuable participatory science projects.
Jay Benforado
Board Chair, Association for Advancing Participatory Sciences
