This portal can be described as an interdisciplinary platform to support citizen science research projects.

It is a platform of citizen science projects and contact information to redirect users to the projects’ participation websites using DISCOVER, PARTICIPATE AND TRY buttons:

DISCOVER PARTICIPATE TRY

The portal is also a platform for sharing resources such as information, documents and knowledge on citizen science in general or in relation to specific projects, news items or past and future events.

It is also a platform for connecting with other people committed to citizen science, by learning about their field trips, results reporting events or meetings and debates. Some participation websites also have forums and allow meaningful interactions between members.

This portal came about from a desire by Sorbonne University Alliance researchers and project leaders to showcase the many different types of participatory research projects underway in their institutions. Ultimately, it aims to inspire participants to get involved in citizen science and build connections within different communities, whether in the field of biodiversity, languages and information technology, history or astronomy, or any other theme in the project directory.

The idea is that citizens, researchers and partners who facilitate implementation of the programs do “science together”. But it is also about advancing science and knowledge, cooperation and sharing.

This site is intended for all people wanting to learn and all those who share an interest in citizen science, who wish to expand their knowledge on the subject, or simply participate in one of the programs on offer: teachers, schoolchildren and university students; the informed and general public; professionals (e.g., farmers and nature park managers) and people who engage in recreational activities outdoors and in nature (e.g., boaters and divers); community organizations and local authorities; companies and institutions, journalists, researchers and scientists, financial, scientific, technical and entertainment partners, resource persons and project leaders, and scientific mediators.

This site is for the diverse groups of people who are already involved in citizen science, and those who will come to share their passion, interest and knowledge around this ever-changing domain.

Many contributors including project leaders, people who provided input in the design, resource persons, steering committee members, and members of the technical and coordination team have helped get this project off the ground to foster cooperation and bring people together. It also received support from the interdisciplinary institutes, directorates and presidencies of the Muséum national d’histoire naturelle and Sorbonne University, who helped design, set up and implement the project.

FOUNDING MEMBERS

• Members of the public, citizens, citizen science project contributors, volunteers, civil society stakeholders
• Partners, local government, institutional and private sector stakeholders, community organizations and financial partners
• Researchers, project leaders and scientists

We like to share a definition that is as broad as possible:

“Citizen science and participatory research are types of scientific knowledge production in which stakeholders from civil society, as individuals or groups, participate with researchers in an active and deliberate manner”.

This definition is from a report entitled “Citizen science in France” prepared by François Houllier in 2016 at the request of the ministers of national education, higher education and research. It is also in the “Charter of Citizen Science and Participatory Research in France” signed on March 20, 2017.

CITIZEN SCIENCE BASICS

In each project file, there is a “Specific actions” section, which describes what participation in the program entails.

Projects presented on the platform use varied citizen science approaches: Annotation; Co-development of protocols/ measurement tools; Data collection and entry; Content contribution; Descriptions; Documentation; Sound recordings; Archaeological digs; Identifications; Indexing; Games; Museology; Amateur practices; Reporting; Reproducing experiments; Reporting of results; Monitoring; Transcription; and Validation.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED ?

Simply go to the PROJECT DIRECTORY section and search for projects, programs or observatories according to a theme, project type, location or keyword. Once you have found a project file you are interested in, click on one of the buttons (PARTICIPATE, TRY, DISCOVER) and you will be redirected to the website of that project.

Once you have searched the PROJECT DIRECTORY section, you will find the project file. On the top right-hand corner, there is summary sheet of the project, sometimes with the email of the organization or laboratory and the button the project co-manager has chosen (PARTICIPATE, TRY, DISCOVER) to redirect you to the project participation website. At the bottom of the project file, you will find the project co-managers’ cards with the details of their organization or laboratory.

Only project leaders and resource persons can set up an account to join the citizen science professional network.

If you have a question about citizen science in general, or about the Science Together portal, you can use the website CONTACT form.

If you have a question about a specific program, we suggest you get in touch with the contacts identified on the project participation websites.

We suggest you :

• Read the document called CITIZEN SCIENCE PROFESSIONAL NETWORK
• Read the CHARTER OF COMMITMENTS AND VALUES to make sure you agree with its contents, values and specific features
• Set up an account

If you have further questions, please fill in the CONTACT form to share why you are interested in joining the professional network.

As a member of the professional network, you can login to the network using your login details. From your personal dashboard, you can choose to publish a resource, a news item or information about an event. The form is easy to use.