Science for All: How Citizen Science Enriches Research

Many people followed Wenger’s call. “With this great support from the population, we have been able to gain new and valuable knowledge about the distribution and behavior of harbor porpoises,” says the whale researcher. Citizen science can lead to new insights and scientifically usable results that would otherwise not have been achieved or only achieved by larger research funds.

passion for research

What all Citizen Science projects have in common is a passion for research and discovery. Digitization has given additional impetus. Thanks to smartphones and the Internet, society can better communicate – and share its findings anytime, anywhere.

Many citizen science initiatives would not be conceivable without digital platforms. One of them is a climate research project by ecologist Annette Menzel from Technical University of Munich. Bavaria citizens can use the corresponding data portal and app to research climate change at their doorstep, thus becoming citizen scientists themselves.

“I believe that all humans are born scientists,” confirms museum director Vogel. Universities and other research institutions need to understand “how much potential there is in citizen science.”