White Paper of Science Innovation Through Citizen Science

This White Paper explores the potential for learning from, and the practice of, citizen science to foster innovation in science. Citizen science, operating both within and outside of established research organisations and engaging with civil society has the potential to feed back into science not only in terms of social aspects of how and by whom science is done, but also in terms of impact on the concrete outcomes of scientific research. This document takes a sociological and political perspective on the opportunities offered by citizen science for facing existing challenges within the practice of science. It aims to communicate to scientific researchers and policymakers involved in citizen science the under-explored potential for innovation within scientific practice from advances made in the practice of citizen science.