Training programs and learning opportunities in TIME4CS: a journey within the journey
It’s been a long journey so far for TIME4CS! It all started with long-term institutional changes in mind, the willingness to support RPOs, and, of course, Citizen Science implementation as the ultimate goal. We went through, among many other things: the definition of the drivers of successful institutional change in support of CS based on 38 Case Studies around the world; the identification of 11 conditions enabling the institutional transformation of RPOs; the selection of indicators for both individual and institutional changes supporting CS; the development of a general roadmap framework for assuring institutional change in CS; and much more! Front-Runners and Implementers worked intensively, side-by-side, in many different activities, events, workshops, implementing and fine-tuning our findings.
Now, after 28 months, and with just 8 more ahead of us, we are holding a series of webinars on cross-cutting topics related to CS and institutional changes, based on the training programs developed by Aarhus University. This series, started in December 2022, will run until the very end of TIME4CS, providing the CS communities and all participants with relevant findings, experiences and suggestions on a variety of themes, from the CS funding landscape to the impact of CS hubs, going through ethical aspects of Citizen Science and communication pathways, and much more.
It represents an inspiring journey, our journey, made of 10 appointments, as learning opportunities for all the people out there who are willing to know more on the successful implementation of CS, to spread the CS value as a research methodology, as well as to learn how to influence institutional issues. Nonetheless, it constitutes the chance to cluster and collaborate with other projects and initiatives around Europe: synergies and mutual learning are key!
The outcomes, including presentations and recordings, will be available on our website and on EU-Citizen.Science platform, contributing to the training resources.
First one was Driving changes to embed Citizen Science at your institution, a webinar where we shared with participants practical tips on how they can contribute to foster the adoption of citizen science as research methodology within their organisation through the use of institutional roadmaps
Second webinar has been about The Citizen Science Funding Landscape, which provided participants with an overview of different funding opportunities for Citizen Science projects. The event consisted of a discussion with representatives of different funding sources at local, national and international level (Science for Change, OeAD-GmbH, IMPETUS) to discuss similarities and highlight specificities between the different approaches.
Next stop: Citizen science in the dialogue between science and society, featuring ECSA and ECS, 27th April.
Check out our dedicated page in case you missed them, and follow us in this journey...the best is yet to come!
Author: Alessio Livio Spera (APRE)
