Dr. Dana Mahr (KIT ITAS) will give a keynote titled: "Beyond the Trust Deficit: Epistemic Practices, Power and Cooperation in Citizen Science"
Public discourse on citizen science is often characterised by the diagnosis of a ‘crisis of trust’. At the same time, studies from Germany and other European countries show that general trust in science has remained comparatively stable since the COVID-19 pandemic. This tension forms the starting point for my keynote address. I argue that trust should not be understood primarily as a deficit, but as an ongoing process of epistemic evaluation: people assess scientific knowledge in the light of their own experiences, values and social positions. Conflicts over research therefore rarely arise solely from a lack of information, but frequently from differing moral and political frameworks regarding what is considered relevant, legitimate or responsible knowledge.
For citizen science practice, this implies a significant shift in perspective. If trust is the result of social and epistemic negotiation, organisers of citizen science projects are faced not only with the question of how citizens can be involved, but also with whom, under what conditions and with what forms of knowledge. Citizen science is always also a decision about which groups are invited to co-produce knowledge, and which perspectives thereby remain visible or invisible.
Building on work by KIT-ITAS on epistemic practices and science communication, I argue that citizen science should be understood as an infrastructure for knowledge cooperation. Using an example from a current project on deepfakes and AI-generated media involving young people and children (Deep-Prisma), I discuss how co-production can generate new forms of expertise: Young people contribute experiential knowledge about platform cultures, digital practices and the risks of manipulation, whilst research institutions provide methodological and analytical expertise. At the same time, this collaboration raises questions of responsibility, protection, power relations and representation: Who defines the research questions? Whose experiences are considered relevant knowledge? And what forms of participation are actually accessible to different groups? The keynote aims to encourage a shift in perspective: citizen science and science communication should be seen less as tools for restoring trust and more as practices of collaborative knowledge assessment.
We have received 76 submissions total, of which 46 could be accepted. Speakers were sent a link for registration.
Participation for non-speakers will open in July.
Symposium of the project “Trust in Citizen Science”, funded by the German Ministry of Research, Technology, and Space (BMFTR), in cooperation with the Public Communication of Science and Technology Network (PCST), and the German Citizen Science Platform mit:forschen! Gemeinsam Wissen schaffen.
Participation is one aim of science communication, and has evolved from a set of different scientific and science communication practices (Metcalfe, 2022), among them citizen science and participatory science communication. A defining feature of “citizen science projects” is the active participation of people, who usually don't have an institutional affiliation to science (Bonn et al., 2021): These “citizens” contribute to scientific knowledge production in various ways and on various levels of involvement, reaching from the collection of data to the development of research questions for a project (Strasser et al., 2019).
On the one hand, citizen science is instrumentally beneficial because it makes data collection more efficient (Bonney et al., 2016). On the other hand, citizen science has been advocated as a tool to democratize science and include diverse perspectives and local knowledge in scientific practices (Lewenstein, 2022; Wynne, 1991), as well as to make science applicable to societal transformations (Hecker, 2022). Consequently, public participation in science has been connected to a wide variety of effects and promises: Citizens’ participation in scientific practices has the potential to enhance people’s understanding of science and, thus, increase their trust in scientific practices and results. Research suggests that participation in science may not only increase trust in science and research for those citizens already involved, but also for a wider local community (Bedessem et al., 2021, 2023; Bonney et al., 2016; Metcalfe, 2022). However, citizen science and science communication research have also addressed potential negative effects that public participation may have on public understanding of and trust in science, for example, when citizens’ contributions are not considered fair (Lewenstein, 2022), useful, or voluntary (Riley & Mason-Wilkes, 2023).
Many questions about trust in and within citizen science (communication) remain. This symposium invites original research and practice contributions providing some insights on the role of trust in science as an enabling condition, as a side effect, or as (threatened) outcome of citizens’ participation in scientific projects. We furthermore invite investigations of different perspectives – citizens’, scientists’, and enablers’ perspectives, as well as that of a broader public. Contributions may also address the role of science communication–within and about citizen science projects–in fostering trust in science.
In this symposium, we look for contributions that help advance theoretical, empirical, and practical insights to citizen science research. The symposium will be hosted by the Museum fuer Naturkunde Berlin. It is part of the project consortium “Trust in Citizen Science”, funded by the German Ministry of Research, Technology, and Space, granted to Technische Universität Braunschweig, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, and Museum fuer Naturkunde Berlin.
Key questions for the symposium will include the following:
Research Perspectives:
Practice Perspectives:
To submit a contribution to the symposium, please click the link: https://ifkw.rz.tu-bs.de/citizen-science-communication-trust-2026/cfp
The deadline for submissions is April 17, 2026.
Invited are abstracts of up to 5000 characters (including spaces and footnotes, excluding references, tables, and figures) in German or English.
Note: The symposium can accommodate only a limited number of original research or practice talks. All submissions will therefore be reviewed with regard to their fit to the goals and expectations as described above. The outcome of this review process (i.e., acceptance or rejection) will be communicated by May 18, 2026.
Call for presentations
We invite scholars and practitioners to present a research insight or a practice insight on citizen science (communication) and trust.
Innovative Formats (Workshops, Roundtables, Demonstrations, Dialogue- and Participation Sessions) may also be submitted.
Format
Fees
Participation is free of charge.
Participants will be responsible for covering their own travels, accommodation and local transportation.
Venue
The Symposium is held in the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin – right in the center of Berlin, close to the main train station and major sights.
Contacts
For further information please contact us at
ifkw-tics(at)tu-braunschweig.de
Organising Committee
You can also download the Call for Papers als PDF in English or in German here.
Trust in Citizen Science (TiCS) is a three-year project (2023-2026) funded within the Science Communication Research funding line by the BMFTR (Federal Ministry for Research, Technology and Space) in Germany.
The team (based at Technische Universität Braunschweig, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, and Museum für Naturkunde Berlin) investigates trust in citizen science from three perspectives: a) trust within citizen science projects, b) (mediated) public trust in citizen science, and c) scientists’ trust in citizen science.
https://www.tu-braunschweig.de/en/fourc/drittmittelprojekte/trust-in-citizen-science-tics
Besides hosting a spectacular collection of natural history exhibits, the museum stands amongst Germany’s leading institutions for citizen science, co-hosting the national platform mit:forschen! and the European Citizen Science Association (ECSA). It serves as a hub for science-public interaction, coordinating activities in science communication, public participation in science, and citizen science.
https://www.museumfuernaturkunde.berlin/en
The International Network on Public Communication of Science and Technology (PCST) is one of the first and widest international networks for science communication.
The aim of the network is to multiply opportunities for exchange and co-operation among both researchers and professionals who work in the many diverse but complementary fields of public communication of science and technology.
www.pcst.network
mit:forschen! Gemeinsam Wissen schaffen (formerly Bürger schaffen Wissen) is the central platform for citizen science in Germany. The platform presents, connects and supports citizen science projects since April 2014. The platform’s main goals are to give an overview of citizen science projects, to inform about the concept of citizen science and strengthen its visibility and acceptance, to further develop the citizen science landscape in Germany and internationally and to contribute to current debates on participatory science.
mit:forschen! is a joint project by Wissenschaft im Dialog and Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, funded by the German Federal Ministry for Research, Technology and Space since November 2013.