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18 Jun 2025

CAPS 2025 Attendee Recaps

Conferenceattendee recaps, CAPS2025

Photo from "Onboarding Research Libraries to Citizen Science" workshop courtesy of Thomas Kaarsted Curious what others have to say about their experience at CAPS? Check out these reflections from presenters and attendees. Blog Posts: Muki Haklay has been sharing about AAPS conferences since our very first Portland meeting in 2012. This year he shared not one, but four!, posts about his time at CAPS 2025. CAPS 2025 – uncertain or resiliant future for USA participatory science? CAPS25 – Responsible, ethical, and trustworthy use of AI in participatory sciences CAPS25 – respectful and reciprocal callaboration with indigenous communities CAPS25 conference – iNatuarlist keynote The SciStarter team…

18 Jun 2025

By Reanna Putnam

CAPS 2025 Poster Awards

Conferenceawards, CAPS2025, early career, people, poster awards

This year we debuted CAPS Poster Awards. Poster award winners received conference totes, a participatory science book from authors at the event, and the opportunity to share their poster with the broader AAPS community after the conference. ???? Join us in celebrating the following individuals who will be sharing more of their work in the coming weeks in the community forum on AAPS Connect. Wednesday Poster Awardees: Most interesting research findings: Brandon Budnicki (P:139) Improving research protocols through natural language processing Designing research protocols with clear and interpretable questions is a challenge for new project managers. We will explore preliminary results on how natural…

21 May 2025

By Reanna Putnam

Partner with us to host CAPS 2027 in your city!

Conference

We invite your help in identifying strong and inspired candidates to host the next in-person Conference for Advancing Participatory Sciences(spring/summer, 2027). Please share the following call for Expressions of Interest from potential hosts and partners. Hosting is a huge opportunity for visibility and leadership in the field. Applying to host CAPS 2027 offers an unique opportunity to highlight your institution’s field leadership and your region as a center of excellence. This event brings international attention to the work of local/regional organizations, and raises local awareness about the global significance of these projects and practices. Hosting also takes commitment. The details…

20 May 2025

By Sarah Kirn

Resources Explained: Navigating US federal funding for participatory sciences with the NASA Cit Sci Leaders Series

Resourcesfunding, NASA Cit Sci Leaders Series, resources explained

Note: 2025 has brought unprecedented changes to the US federal funding landscape for scientific research, including participatory sciences. While the information below was accurate at the time, funding to support the named programs is uncertain. Seeking grant funding for participatory science work presents both challenges and opportunities. Some challenges stem from misunderstanding or underestimation of how rigorous citizen science research methods can be. Opportunities arise from the fact that citizen science rarely delivers just one set of outcomes; successful projects invariably deliver positive outcomes for participants as well as scientific results. Our series has featured several talks over the years…

01 May 2025

By J_Shirk

Board Candidates for 2025 Member Vote

Uncategorizedpeople

Members of the AAPS Board play a crucial role in shaping the future of this Association. As a working board responsible for the governance and oversight of a growing nonprofit organization, the makeup of the Board is essential to its success. For a detailed overview of the roles of Board Members, find a list of AAPS Board Member Responsibilities here. In line with the mission and strategic plan of AAPS, the Governance Committee has sought candidates with expertise in one or more of the following areas deemed priority this year: Revenue and development planning; especially recruiting and retaining major donors and…

24 Apr 2025

By Reanna Putnam

Lessons from Projects that have Cultivated Advanced Participation

FellowshipsNASA Cit Sci Leaders Series, project design, stories

What makes volunteers feel empowered and motivated to bring their own ideas and expertise to the table? How do project leaders support and nurture extraordinary efforts, contributions, interests, or collaborations from volunteers? One of the most exciting aspects of citizen science is how often volunteers go far beyond what’s expected of them, making unique contributions that significantly impact the project and contribute to scientific discovery in creative ways. Through the NASA Citizen Science Leaders series, I’ve been learning how project leaders intentionally create the conditions that empower these extraordinary contributions. This post shares strategies and reflections from these conversations. My…

28 Mar 2025

By Reanna Putnam

Science for All Showcase at CAPS 2025 Event Basics

Conference

This year's Conference for Advancing Participatory Sciences will feature a Science for All Showcase, an interactive evening of workshops, resource tables, and lightning talks. Designed for community connectors including educators, librarians, museum professionals, and others with networking opportunities for evaluators, researchers and project scientists, this event will provide strategies, resources, and connections to bring participatory science to more people. This event will take place onThursday, May 29, 2025 at the World Forestry Center in collaboration with SciStarter, the OSU STEM Research Center, and AAPS. Event Details: Date: Thursday, May 29, 2025 Time: 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM Location: World Forestry Center, 4033 SW Canyon Rd,…

24 Mar 2025

By AAPS Board

US Federal leadership in participatory sciences – a position statement

AAPS Newsmilestones, position statement

From across the AAPS membership and from partners in many sectors, we hear and share widespread concern that participatory science activities will be impacted by the current curtailing of US Federal agency budgets, personnel, and programs. AAPS is grounded in the work of science, education, and civic engagement. We care deeply about this country's commitments to and global leadership in those areas as a whole. The AAPS Board offers the attached position statement (below) to make sure that, in the midst of changes, the significance and value of the participatory sciences––and of Federal agency leadership in these practices––is not overlooked.…

20 Mar 2025

By Sarah Kirn

Resources Explained: Design Thinking Tools

ResourcesNASA Cit Sci Leaders Series, project design, resources explained, volunteers

Back in 2021, we produced a series of events for NASA citizen science project leaders focused on citizen science project design, and more specifically, website design. NASA, by formal policy, uses citizen science as a research method and holds citizen science projects to the same standards as any other research (SPD-33). Project teams are funded to produce scientific results, which as any seasoned participatory science professional will tell you, requires a high quality volunteer experience. The purpose of our series was to provide support to teams of scientists to help them be efficient and successful at these challenges. In addition…

28 Feb 2025

By Sadie Coffin

Building community in a citizen science project: fostering social interaction for meaningful engagement

FellowshipsNASA Cit Sci Leaders Series, new project, project design, stories

When we first launched Redshift Wrangler, I focused on making the science understandable and engaging, but what I hadn’t anticipated was how important social interactions would be in keeping volunteers engaged. What kept people coming back was a sense of community, and one of the most important ways I’ve learned to foster community on our project is by making communication a two-way street. I started to realize this when I saw that volunteers who posted on our Talk boards or joined our office hours were more likely to stick with the project longer. When I responded to questions quickly and…