From Participation to Community: citizen-to-citizen and scientist-to-citizen interactions in Citizen Science Apps on the SPOTTERON platform
One of the most important aspects of Citizen Science is recognizing that participants voluntarily invest their time and effort into contributing to scientific projects—without compensation. While their passion for nature and curiosity about the environment drive participation, another crucial motivator is often overlooked: the desire to engage and interact with others who share similar interests.
The Importance of Community in Citizen Science
Many Citizen Science projects focus primarily on data collection when implementing technological platforms. However, they often lack features that facilitate interaction between participants. While volunteers may contribute because they care about science and conservation, fostering a sense of belonging and exchange within a community is just as essential.
If we look at current social media platforms, we see thriving groups discussing topics such as soil health, birdwatching, or wildflower meadows. These communities exist not because of a specific research project, but because people enjoy engaging with others who share their interests and to learn from each other. Integrating community-building features into Citizen Science platforms can significantly enhance joy of participation and engagement.
Building safe communities with high privacy standards for Citizen Science
In contrast to social media platforms, on the SPOTTERON App Platform we always apply data protection and privacy ethics, which extend beyond the GDPR. At the same time, a set of integrated features allows reporting and blocking of community content for users for a safe community environment.
Creating Communities Feature on the SPOTTERON Platform
When designing a Citizen Science App, it is essential to not only structure the data collection process effectively but also to provide interactive features that foster community building. On the SPOTTERON platform, multiple tools facilitate communication among users:
Citizen-to-Citizen Interaction
- Comments – Users can discuss observations by leaving comments on each other's contributions.
- Personal User Profile
Representation of the user with basic information, optional fields, and profile picture - Following Users – Participants can follow each other and receive updates from followed users in their newsfeed.
- User Mentions (@username) – Tagging users in comments triggers push notifications, fostering real-time discussions.
- Likes – A quick way to appreciate contributions by giving a heart to spots or comments.
- Personalized Observation Descriptions: Enabling Individual Expression and Detailed Documentation
- Emojis – Enhancing communication with expressive symbols in comments and observation descriptions.
- Validation Section – Users can help verify and discuss data entries.
Connecting Scientists and Citizens
Beyond fostering citizen-to-citizen engagement, direct interaction between scientists and citizens plays a crucial role in Citizen Science. Scientists need to actively establish communication within their project by creating opportunities for interaction and fostering a space where participants can connect and engage meaningfully. The SPOTTERON platform offers several tools for this purpose:
- Push Messages & Newsfeed Updates – Project teams can share updates, findings, media and engagement prompts directly with users.
- Comments – Scientists can reply to user contributions, providing valuable insights and feedback.
- Project-to-User Message Boards – A private communication channel where project administrators can contact users directly.
- Expert Validation – Researchers can validate and discuss submitted data with participants, but also control visibility and deleting uploads.
A successful Citizen Science project goes beyond data collection—it builds a community. By integrating social and interactive tools, the SPOTTERON platform enables that Citizen Science Apps become spaces for collaboration, learning, and shared enthusiasm. The Creating Communities feature empower scientists to actively engage with participants, helping to build a strong and connected community within their project.
Want to learn more? Explore the creating communities feature on SPOTTERON:
More questions on Citizen Science Apps? We are happy to get in contact:
About the author
Related Posts
Comments
By accepting you will be accessing a service provided by a third-party external to https://www.spotteron.net/
