Citizen Science offers new opportunities to support science work

The Weird, Wild World of Citizen Science Is Already Here | The Governance Lab @ NYUThe Governance Lab @ NYU:

"If you ask a university researcher, they’re likely to explain citizen science as a way for the public to contribute data points to larger, professionally run studies, like participating in the galaxy-spotting website Zooniverse or taking part in the annual Christmas Bird Count with the Audubon Society. It’s a model on the scientific fringes; using broad participation to fill the gaps in necessary data."

There’s power in this diffuse definition, though, as long as new interpretations are welcomed and encouraged. By inviting and inspiring people to ask their own questions, citizen science can become much more than a way of measuring bird populations. From the drone-wielding conservationists in South Africa to the makeshift biolabs in Brooklyn, a widening circle of participants are wearing the amateur badge with honor. And all of these groups–the makers, the scientists, the hobbyists–are converging to create a new model for discovery. In other words, the maker movement and the traditional science world are on a collision course.

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10 Ways to Collaborate with Government

10 Ways to Collaborate w/ Gov | Code for America:

• To help citizens get started in their community, we’ve put together the guide How To: Collaborate with Government. We wanted to share a list of 10 tips for reaching out and collaborating with government.

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Keypads may be useful in deliberative forums and meetings

PUBLICAGENDA.ORG - Click to Engage:

• We are particularly focused on the use of keypads to support deliberative forums and meetings tied to collaborative problem solving. Such meetings are often designed and run by impartial facilitators, who bring a broad range of stakeholders together across perspectives to increase mutual understanding, work through difficult issues and move toward productive collaborative action.

Download the PDF of the Report.

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Outline.com takes policy discussions online

Digital democracy: Outline.com takes policy discussions online - Knight Foundation:

• ... given recent advances in web applications, nearly all the steps of static policy analysis can be abstracted away so that assessments can be generated instantaneously based on a set of inputs. This in turn can be translated into easy-to-understand visualizations that can be starting points for our political conversations.
• Shifting these conversations online leads to a more efficient and participatory process. And it makes it easier for our electorate to voice coherent – and informed – directives to their government representatives.

See a video presentation of Outline.com at the above link.

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Collaboration and Innovation

What the rest of the world can learn from Sweden about Collaboration and Innovation | Twyfords - Specialists in Collaboration:

• Sweden is on top of the list, with its agency Vinnova, working with industry to move up the value chain and ‘embrace innovation, entrepreneurship and collaboration in new ways.’ Not settling with what they have achieved so far they have recognised the need to become increasingly innovative, through collaboration, to address global challenges such as climate change, ageing of the population, pollution and resource depletion.
• Vinnova has found that solutions to complex societal challenges are rarely found in one traditional sector or a single research field. Diversity is the key factor that drives innovation, provided that the players are prepared to work collaboratively. ‘New collaboration patterns are emerging between actors in different value chains’ with remarkable results. 

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