Inclusive participation in Citizen Science projects (CS Co-labs discussion 2)

We will present our reflections on:

• thinking about who participates in terms of equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging
• why people participate and creating an environment where people can meaningfully contribute
• how to measure diversity and inclusion

How the session will run

The session will be online only, via Zoom. Please join the CS Co-labs mailing list to receive joining details. 

We will start with a short presentation on the topic and then move into break out groups for discussion.

Slides will be made available and a short summary shared after the session. The session will not be recorded. This is so that the discussion sessions can be a safe space to ask questions and share challenges. 

Also for the purposes of data protection, we request that AI-based note-taking software is only used if needed for accessibility, not simply for convenience. If you do need to use it, please do not share the output with anyone else, including other participants in the session.

Optional pre-reads 

• Q&A: How can we make volunteer biological recording more inclusive? (SEI feature) 
• Citizen Science: Pathways to Impact and why Participant Diversity Matters. Pateman, R. M., & West, S. E. (2023). Citizen Science: Theory and Practice, 8 (1), 50. 
• Increasing inclusivity in biological recording in the United Kingdom: progress to date and future priorities. Pateman, R. M., et al. (2025). Citizen Science: Theory and Practice 11(1), 1. 
• Variations in the Motivations of Environmental Citizen Scientists. West, S, Dyke, A and Pateman, R. (2021). Citizen Science: Theory and Practice, 6(1): pp. 1–18. 
• The Diversity of Participants in Environmental Citizen Science. Pateman, R., Dyke, A. and West, S. (2021). Citizen Science: Theory and Practice, 6(1). 9.