Citizen Science - Wissenschaft mit der Bevölkerung

In a nutshell

In Citizen Science projects, volunteers and full-time researchers work together and gain new knowledge.
In Switzerland, Science et Cité conducted a situation analysis for the first time. As a result, the Schweiz forscht platform was founded in 2015, which makes Citizen Science projects visible and offers networking activities, information and guidelines.
In the future, Citizen Science is to be anchored even more firmly in society.

Citizen Science is increasingly becoming a catch-all term for the many methods by which volunteers can participate in research. Citizen Science has become topical in science and science communication in various countries, but especially in the Anglo-Saxon world, in recent years. Due to the tradition of natural science societies dating back to the 19th century, nature observation by volunteers is a very well covered field in Switzerland. To date, the majority of Citizen Science projects existing in Switzerland originate from the field of natural sciences. However, in recent years, many projects have also developed in the field of medical sciences as well as humanities and social sciences.

The Switzerland Researches platform and network were founded by Science et Cité in 2015 following a need expressed by various providers of Swiss citizen science projects. In 2018, Science et Cité / Switzerland researches was responsible for the conception and implementation of the second European Citizen Science Conference, and in 2023 for the Citizen Science Conference in Switzerland, CitSci Helvetia.

Since 2021, it has intensified the previous activities in the framework of a special initiative. This special initiative, which will run until 2024, is made possible by the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences. During this time, a participatory process was started in order to further develop Citizen Science in Switzerland in a targeted and impact-oriented way.

Schweiz forscht

Tasks of the Citizen Science Switzerland office

The office is in charge of the Citizen Science network "Schweiz forscht". It is the contact point for project leaders and project staff of Citizen Science projects, media, representatives of universities, research institutions, NGOs and associations as well as people who are involved with Citizen Science on an institutional level. The office is internationally networked and works closely with Germany and Austria in particular. All activities related to Citizen Science in Switzerland are bundled on the website Schweiz forscht.