Share your insights, research, experience or new ideas about practices for participatory sciences: the tools, strategies, or innovations that make for successful projects.
It’s easy to submit, and presenting can open doors for more ideas, connections, and inspired work in this field.
AAPS is calling for submissions covering many approaches to research by, for, and with members of the public for the 2025 Conference for Advancing Participatory Sciences (CAPS 2025), happening May 27th – 30th in Portland, Oregon.
We invite submissions that share stories and insights into the work behind participatory sciences (including community science, citizen science, crowdsourcing, volunteer monitoring and more), and share the important scientific contributions that can result from these practices.
Presentations provide an avenue for sharing your original ideas and finding connections with others in this field. CAPS 2025 is accepting submissions for two types of presentations: a Poster, or a Talk as part of a Discussion Session.
- What gets presented at this meeting? Ideas and insights into the work behind participatory sciences, and the important scientific and community impacts that can result from these practice. This call is for Talks and Posters only–see call for Organized Sessions for other formats.
- What are the participatory sciences? The participatory sciences are a constellation of many related traditions that combine the strengths of scientific inquiry with the knowledge, insights, and observations of members of the public. This includes approaches like crowdsourced science, community-engaged research, community science, citizen science, volunteer monitoring and more. For more on why we use this term see here.
- Who can submit? Anyone designing, implementing, or facilitating participatory science projects or researching the broader field. This event uniquely brings together all of the people and perspectives needed for projects to thrive, including academics from all disciplines, community leaders, data managers, tech designers, librarians, and teachers to name a few!
- Is this event for me? See above! And, just to start, here are a few reasons students/early career professionals, community leaders and researchers (just to start) can find value from being part of CAPS conversations.
Topics (overview):
Click on each topic for highlights, or on the embedded links for more expanded details on each theme.
Technology-driven innovation
Policy and Decision Making
Community-led Research
Dealing with Data
Engagement Strategies
Measuring Success
Education and learning
Scientific advancement and monitoring
Individual Presentation Types:
Talks are a chance to share your work with an audience and then engage with the audience and other presenters in a topical discussion.
- Talks will be part of 75-minute sessions with up to 6 presentations on a common topic.
- Presenters will share their work for 10 minutes, followed by 2 minutes of questions.
- Then there will be a ~15 minute discussion for the audience and presenters to discuss their work collectively.
- Talk spots are limited and some submitted talks may be invited to present a poster instead.
Posters provide a touchstone to start a one-on-one conversation – to share ideas, invite and ask questions, and learn more together by talking with others in this community about our work.
- Presenters will share their work in a large-scale visual, print format in the conference poster hall.
- There will be two afternoon poster sessions, and presenters will be assigned to one of these sessions.
- Posters will be grouped topically in the poster hall during their session.
Review Criteria:
Talk and poster proposals will be assessed using the following criteria:
- Relevance: Proposed idea has clear connection to the participatory sciences and is aligned with CAPS 2027 Topics (see Topics below).
- Demonstrates Grounded Methods: Base conclusions on evidence, evaluation data, rigorous project results, or lived experience.
- Shares Clear Insights: Research findings, emerging work, or lessons learned have a clear message that offers value to others in the participatory sciences.
- Advances Field-Wide Practice: Focuses on forward-thinking strategies, ideas, or solutions that push participatory science forward.
- Engages Cross-Disciplinary Audiences: Resonates with a cross disciplines and roles, including researchers, community leaders, educators, policymakers, and practitioners.
This event strives to provide relevant, quality content that advances our field. All proposals will go through peer review and then be ranked by the CAPS 2027 conference committee who will make final decisions regarding acceptance.
How does peer review work? Peer review is an important part of our process. All who submit a presentation proposal will be invited to opt into the anonymous review process. Reviewers will use criteria designed to ensure that submitted content is relevant to the CAPS 2027 Conference and aligns with our values of diversity, respect and collaboration, accessibility, participation, integrity, and transparency. See event code of conduct for additional detail.
How to Submit:
Step 1: Review the planning guide and prepare your responses.
Step 2: Submit your proposal here. All submissions must be made through the online form.
Submissions will be accepted through 11:59 PM ET on Tuesday 15 December 2026. Submissions will be accepted in English only and must be submitted through the online submission form. Proposals submitted after the deadline will not be considered.
After submission, all who submit will be invited to take part in the peer review process. Then, the program committee will check the reviews and presenting authors will be notified of decisions by the end of February 2027.
Submissions will be reviewed according to expectations for their specific content type:
- RESEARCH FINDINGS: findings from research and methodological studies, sharing insights into participatory science practices or project outcomes.
- STORY OF LESSONS LEARNED: lessons learned from lived experiences, including what went well but also what didn’t that have informed how you do your work better
- EMERGING WORK: inviting feedback on new ideas, projects, technologies, or research in progress (may be descriptive, but not promotional).
Topics:
These cross-disciplinary topics will be used to group presentations to foster broader inspiration and cross-role learning. Under each topic, examples illustrate potential discussion themes rather than exact session titles. When submitting, select up to three relevant topics, or choose “Other” to suggest your own. Click the arrows below to view details for each theme.
Technology-driven innovation:
- AI and Machine Learning: Projects using artificial intelligence and volunteer support to analyze vast data sets for new discoveries and insights.
- Mobile Apps and Platforms: User-friendly applications and platforms that make it easier for people to engage in participatory science projects.
- IoT Devices: Internet-connected devices enabling real-time data collection and monitoring across environmental and scientific variables.
- Online Communities: Virtual spaces and digital forums designed to foster safety, belonging, and meaningful engagement, particularly for historically marginalized groups.
Policy and decision-making:
- Influencing Policy and Practice Guidelines: Applications of participatory science data and research to inform policy and practice guidelines across key societal issues.
- Global Partnerships: Cross-border networks leveraging community monitoring to advance international policy frameworks and global targets.
- Environmental Justice: Direct initiatives by frontline and fenceline communities leveraging collected data to demand regulatory compliance and policy change.
Community-led research:
- Respect and Reciprocity: Collaborative frameworks prioritizing equity, shared power, and mutual benefit among all project partners.
- Capacity Building: Expanded community access to tools, laboratories, and data for local advocacy and direct action on urgent issues.
- Partnering for Impact: Strategic alliances between researchers, policymakers, and community groups to drive action on shared priorities.
Dealing with data:
- Data Management and Use: Protocols and workflows designed to ensure collected data effectively supports project and participant outcomes.
- Data Visualization and Sharing Project Outcomes: Innovative approaches and creative formats for communicating research results to partners, policymakers, and stakeholders.
- Data Governance and Security: Decision-making structures and security safeguards that address data ownership, long-term stewardship, permissible uses, and privacy protection.
Engagement strategies:
- Volunteer Training and Outreach: Evolving practices and digital strategies designed for training, recruiting, and engaging volunteers effectively.
- Bridging the Gap: Accessibility and inclusion efforts ensuring project participation for individuals from diverse, disabled, and marginalized communities.
- Broadening Participation: Strategic partnerships that expand access to new audiences and deepen engagement with existing participants.
Measuring success:
- Impact Assessment: Methodologies and comparative frameworks used to evaluate broad, long-term outcomes across research initiatives.
- Program Evaluation: Practical guidelines and adaptable assessment tools to understand specific objectives.
- Learning Outcomes: Evaluation strategies and measurement tools designed to assess educational impact and participant learning.
Education and Learning
- Colleges and Careers: Academic programs integrating participatory science into higher education curricula to support professional development and career pathways.
- Engaging Young Learners:Tools, strategies, and outcomes of involving students in authentic scientific research, whether in formal or informal settings.
Scientific advancement and monitoring:
- Addressing Global Challenges: Research initiatives focused on climate solutions, health breakthroughs, renewable energy, and resource management.
- Expanding Basic Discoveries: Fundamental contributions to core scientific fields made possible through collaborations between researchers and the public.
- Monitoring at Scale: Long-term, cross-border environmental monitoring networks connecting local observations to global trends.
Looking for more details?
How to prepare your idea:
Ideas that are a good “fit” for this event are:
- Relevant to work in the field of participatory sciences (citizen science, community science, volunteer monitoring, crowdsourced science, community-engaged research etc.)
- Focused on cross-cutting topics (such as policy and decision-making; engagement strategies; or measuring success)
- Tell an informative story about research outcomes, lessons learned, or emerging work to share with others in the participatory sciences.
Here’s what you need to prepare:
- Title (100 characters or less)
- Author list (names, emails, and who is presenting)
- Short summary (500 characters or less, aka 1-2 sentences)
- Detailed overview/abstract that expands on the short summary (2000 characters or less)
- Everything else is just answers to some basic menu-based questions like your presentation type (Talk or Poster), themes, and so on (the full set of options are in the PLANNING GUIDE).
Timeline and terms:
Who can submit? Anyone! If your project or work brings members of the public into the research process in meaningful ways, we welcome your ideas and perspective at this conference. We want to bring together people from all spheres, spaces, and disciplines: volunteers, students, data managers, community leaders, librarians, scientists, teachers, to just name a handful!
How many ideas can I submit? Only one submission per presenting author will be considered. You can be listed as a co-author on multiple submissions, but you can only be the presenting author for one submission.
Will this cost me anything? There is no cost to submit a talk or poster. If accepted, the presenting author will need to register for and travel to attend the 2027 conference in Louisville, Kentucky (see rates and options here).
What’s the deadline again? All submissions must be made in the online form no later than Tuesday 15 December 2026 11:59 PM ET.
When will I hear back? Late February 2027. We will send you a notification from events@citizenscience.org. Add this email to your contact list to ensure we don’t end up in your spam folder!
Who reviews these ideas? All who submit proposals will be invited to take part in peer review. Each submission will have 2-4 volunteer reviewers. Then the CAPS 2027 Presentation Committee, a sub-committee of the Conference Program Committee, will make final decisions and place submissions into relevant topical sessions.
By breaking down traditional barriers and silos, people united by shared passions, places, or experiences can do research together for a more complete picture of our world. At the Conference for Advancing Participatory Sciences, we explore what it takes to make that possible.
At this year’s conference, we shine a light on this work through the theme of Healthy Places, Innovation Spaces.
“Healthy Places” looks at health in a complete way—connecting human well-being with the health of the environment around us. Through participatory sciences, we can monitor and better understand the places important to us, from neighborhood parks and clean air to local rivers and urban trees. This is about more than just doing better research on what is happening and where—it is about research that paves the way for action, ensuring data can drive solutions and lasting change.
“Innovation Spaces” focuses on what it takes for participatory sciences to be open environments for problem-solving—where people come together to share data, rethink traditional research, and experiment with new ideas. Co-design—making sure technology, research methods, and action plans are built together from the start, taking into account practical knowledge and real-world experience.