Challenges and Experiences of Multi-/ Inter- and Trans-disciplinary Collaborations in Citizen Science Initiatives: Output Paper of the StepChange Mutual Learning Exercise

The Step Change consortium presented and discussed (together with external experts Barbara Smetschka from the Institute of Social Ecology in Austria and Djoera Eerland from the “Buurkracht” in the Netherlands) the key takeaways from the work on its “Citizen Science Initiatives” (CSIs) in regard to “Multi-/ Inter- and Trans-disciplinary Collaborations" during the project activities. Several major lessons learnt in relation to the widely challenges are listed below, along with some experiences, tested solutions and results:

1. Navigating Diversity
2. Conflicting Methodological Approaches 
3. Power Relationships, Conflicting Values and Beliefs
4. Language and Communication Issues
5. Stakeholder Inclusion
6. Technical and Logistical Challenges

In addition to the CSIs' exchange of experiences and mutual learning from this exercise, we also want others to be able to benefit from our findings.
The output paper was prepared by the ZSI team (ilse Marschalek, Elke Dall, Samire Gurgurovci) with inputs from all consortium partners.