Looking to define yourself as a participatory science professional?
Consider these sessions at at CAPS 2026, May 26-29. >>Full program here.
Professional Pathways in Informal STEM Learning: Tools for your participatory science career
Collaborative Session [Tuesday, May 26, 1:15 PM]
Professional Pathways is a new suite of tools that can help you identify and develop professional competencies for a career in an Informal STEM Learning (ISL) setting. In this session, participants will reflect on their own professional skills and knowledge by exploring two tools–the Framework and the Self-Assessment. From there, participants will engage in a broader discussion connecting these tools to participatory science. What competencies do participants want to prioritize for their own career development? What competencies does the field need to invest in collectively?
Convener: Jenny Crayne (Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC))
Co-presenters: Amanda Fisher (Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC))
What competencies in participatory sciences are in your syllabus?
Collaborative Session [Thursday, May 28, 1:15 PM]
The European Citizen Science (ECS) project has developed a competencies framework for citizen science and participatory sciences (CitSciComp) through a consensus-based approach. This session will introduce different competencies identified by the European Citizen Science community and map existing syllabi and training plans to the CitSciComp. This will raise awareness of the CitSciComp and its diverse set of competencies.
Convener: Muki Haklay (Université Paris Cité/Learning Planet Institute )
Co-presenters: Cléa Montanari (Université Paris Cité/Learning Planet Institute ); Andrea Giraldo Sevilla (Learning Planet Institute )
Ways to Publish Your Participatory Science Work
Collaborative Session [Wednesday, May 27, 2:30 PM]
A joint informational panel with leaders from Community Science Exchange and Citizen Science: Theory and Practice journals followed by an audience-led discussion on the different ways to publish participatory work. Join journal editors to learn about the avenues available and how to turn your work into a paper or resource to publish.
Convener: Allison Schuette (American Geophysical Union)
Co-presenters: Allison Schuette (American Geophysical Union) and others TBD
Another way to define yourself as a participatory science professional? Present your work at CAPS.
Conversations at CAPS open doors and change the field, and there is still time to submit your idea for an individual presentation. The submission process is quick and we welcome submissions from the many approaches to this work-citizen science, community science, volunteer monitoring, crowdsourced science, and more. >>Submit your idea here by 31 January 2026.
Registration for CAPS 2026 is open! Find full event details here.
