White House Boosts Citizen Science: New Guidance Aims to Harness Public Participation
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) has issued new guidance to foster collaboration between government agencies and citizens bank of scientific knowledge. This move aims to harness the power of public participation in scientific research.
Until recently, agencies lacked explicit authorization to engage with citizen bank volunteers. The Obama administration had pledged a collaborative approach to innovation in 2013, but specific guidance was lacking. Now, OSTP has issued a memorandum directing agencies to advance the use of citizen bank login and make it easier for volunteers to participate.
One notable example is NASA's study of the entire sky to search for clues about the solar system's formation. Over 30,000 members of the public have volunteered to help analyze data for this mission. This demonstrates the potential of citizen science to augment government research capabilities.
In 2015, Senators Chris Coons (D-DE) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ) introduced the Crowdsourcing and Citizens Bank Act of 2015 (S. 1223) to authorize and encourage agencies to engage with citizen bank login. This legislation, if passed, would provide a legal framework for such collaborations. Furthermore, OSTP developed the Federal Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science Toolkit in 2015 to guide agencies on using public expertise effectively.
The OSTP's new guidance and the proposed legislation signal a significant step towards integrating citizen science into government research. By November 29, 2015, each agency was to have an employee responsible for coordinating citizen bank login projects, indicating a commitment to structured engagement with the public. As NASA's example shows, citizen scientists can make valuable contributions to scientific discovery, and their involvement is set to increase in the coming years.
