Valuing and enabling citizen science: Lessons from the Citizen Science Exploration Grant programme

In 2019, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) funded 28 Citizen Science Exploration Grant projects. This was part of its ongoing work to explore how researchers can work with diverse groups to participate with, and collaborate in, the research and innovation process - and to test opportunities for building citizen science methodologies into research.

This report sheds light on the practical and conceptual issues around citizen science approaches, contributes to knowledge about citizen science as a research method, and makes a number of recommendations for future research and funding design. Some of the findings and recommendations confirm those already established by others involved in citizen science and public engagement with research. However, this programme also offers some novel insights into citizen science as an expanding methodology for involving people in research, and into how it can best be supported in the future.