Het strategisch project Citizen Science for a Healthy Lifestyle is gestart op 1 november 2019. Het project had als doel: kennis, ervaring, scholing en internationalisering op het thema Citizen Science for Healthy Lifestyle bevorderen. Deze strategische fonds heeft op concrete wijze vorm en inhoud gegeven aan de visie en doelen van het CoE HA. Deze aanvraag heeft mede geleid tot het benoemen van Citizen Science als belangrijke enabler/versneller binnen de visie van het CoE HA. In jaar 1 lag het accent op scholing (expert conference/workshop etc.) en de opzet van een 3-tal pilots. In jaar 2 werd de opgedane kennis en ervaring verwerkt in ontwikkelde onderwijs modules Citizen Science. De Hanzehogeschool stelt zich tot doel waarde en impact te cre ren in Noord-Nederland, met de inzet van onderwijs, onderzoek en innovatie. De strategie van het Centre of Expertise Healthy Ageing (CoE HA) belicht drie thema’s: 1) gelijkheid en participatie in gezondheidszorg, 2) gezonde leefstijl en omgeving, en 3) kwetsbaarheid en passende zorg. Zowel als onderzoek/innovatiestrategie en als middel om burgers en gemeenschappen te betrekken, speelt Citizen Science for health een belangrijke rol in het mogelijk maken en versnellen van processen binnen de drie thema’s. Citizen Science kan gedefinieerd worden als een vorm van onderzoekssamenwerking en co-creatie die burgers betrekt bij onderzoek en innovatie om concrete vraagstukken aan te pakken, en die dus vereist dat niet-professionele bijdragers onderdeel van de samenwerking zijn.Belangrijkste resultaten:• Citizen Science is mede door deze strategische fonds aanvraag en van de drie enablers geworden in de nieuwe CoE HA strategische koers 2021-2026;• Opstart pilots van Living Lab Beweegvriendelijk Vinkhuizen, Living Lab Oldambt Tijd voor Toekomst en Meer Gezonde Jaren Appingedam. Mede door blijvende investering en honorering van Living Labs Sport en Bewegen van ZonMw; Het gaat hier om een netwerksubsidie (8 maanden), lokale verankering (12 maanden) en experiment subsidie (5 maanden);• Integratie Citizen Science in Erasmus+ capacity building project Sustainable Wellbeing (SUSWELL);• Ontwikkeling SPRONG-aanvraag op het thema Citizen Science (deadline 31 mei 2022);• Diverse scholingsactiviteiten en workshops (master HAP, bachelor, docent-onderzoekers van de Healthy Ageing schools, studiedagen) hebben in 2020, 2021 en 2022 plaatsgevonden;• Studie tweedaagse over Citizen Science gehouden voor studenten en docent-onderzoekers CoE HA en KC Noorderruimte;• Samenwerking met Stanford University en Our Voice: Citizen Science for Health Equity network gerealiseerd;• Positioning statement Citizen Science geschreven in NL en EN;• Lid geworden van European Citizen Science Association (ECSA);• Scholingsmateriaal ontwikkeld voor studenten en docent-onderzoekers van de vijf schools vallend onder Healthy Ageing;• Ontwikkeling NWO-subsidie aanvraag maatschappelijk verdien vermogen over citizen-student Science voor studenten welzijn tijdens en na de Corona pandemie (deadline voorjaar 2022);• Postdoc aanstelling Citizen Science vanuit het CoE HA.• Met de Citizen Science scholingsactiviteiten zijn in totaal 270 bachelor studenten, 145 master studenten, 279 docent-onderzoekers, 109 professionals en 180 burgers bereikt verspreid over de verschillende pilots.Aanbevelingen:• Mede op basis van de impact van praktijkgericht onderzoek op praktijk, onderwijs en onderzoek (PRIME-model pagina 29), doorgaan met onderwijs en praktijk ontwikkelingen. De bijdrage aan het wetenschappelijke/onderzoeksdomein op Citizen Science verdient dekomende jaren extra aandacht;• Mede op basis van bevindingen visitatie terugkoppeling CoE HA (6-7 april 2022), verder doorontwikkelen tot herkend en erkend expertisecentrum op Citizen Science in de context van (publieke) gezondheidsdomein;• De komende jaren verder investeren in mensen en middelen in Citizen Science zodat het een van de leidende aanpakken wordt binnen onderwijs-onderzoek binnen het CoE HA zodat de Hanze zich ontwikkelt tot een expertisecentrum (o.a. m.b.v. SPRONG);• Komende jaren verder kennis en expertise ontwikkelen op Citizen Science door eigenonderzoek (promovendi/postdocs) en scholing;• Citizen Science integreren in relevante onderzoeksprojectaanvragen;• Citizen Science verder integreren in de drie inhoudelijke thema’s van het CoE HA;• Citizen Science onderwijsmodules en scholingen implementeren in het onderwijs van studenten (bachelors, masters) en bij- en nascholing van docent-onderzoekers.
DOCUMENT
Citizen science – the active participation of lay people in research – may yield crucial local knowledge and increase research capacity. Recently, there is growing interest to understand benefits for citizen scientists themselves. We studied the perceived impacts of participation in a public health citizen science project on citizen scientists in a disadvantaged neighbourhood in the Netherlands. Local citizen scientists, characterised by low income and low educational level – many of whom were of migrant origin – were trained to interview fellow residents about health-enhancing and health-damaging neighbourhood features. Experiences of these citizen scientists were collected through focus groups and interviews and analysed using a theoretical model of potential citizen science benefits. The results show that the citizen scientists perceived participation in the project as a positive experience. They acquired a broader understanding of health and its determinants and knowledge about healthy lifestyles, and took action to change their own health behaviour. They reported improved self confidence and social skills, and expanded their network across cultural boundaries. Health was perceived as a topic that helped people with different backgrounds to relate to one another. The project also induced joint action to improve the neighbourhood’s health. We conclude that citizen science benefits participants with low educational or literacy level. Moreover, it seems to be a promising approach that can help promote health in underprivileged communities by strengthening personal skills and social capital. However, embedding projects in broader health promotion strategies and long-term engagement of citizen scientists should be pursued to accomplish this.
DOCUMENT
Mensen die zelf de luchtkwaliteit van hun wijk willen meten… Toekomstmuziek? Nee hoor, het RIVM is er al mee bezig. Maar wat komt daar allemaal bij kijken? Een onderzoek over luchtkwaliteit als startpunt voor een discussie over citizen science.
LINK
Against the backdrop of depopulation and Big Society, citizen initiatives in rural areas are believed to be able to mitigate service-provision inequalities between urban and peripheral regions. Factors influencing the success and failure of such citizen initiatives and their potential in providing solutions to perceived problems have thus far hardly been explored. Our previous work on potential aspects of success and failure indicates that the durability of an initiative does not necessarily define the success of the initiative. Studies have neglected the question of continuity and what will happen when the initiators put down their efforts. In what way do initiators transfer their responsibility and is there a sense of problem ownership?This paper aims to conceptualize factors influencing the continuity of citizen initiatives and provide insight in the processes that take place when initiators stop their activities. Further, the study aims to identify who claims ownership of the issue the initiative focuses on. An inventory of citizen initiatives was made in the three northern provinces of the Netherlands, where rural areas experience depopulation. Questionnaires focusing on how initiatives think about their future, especially when the initiators stop, were sent to around 600 initiatives. The results will add to future research on success and failure of citizen initiatives, but also provide insights for citizen initiatives and ways local governments try to facilitate them.
DOCUMENT
The paper describes the first implementation of the Unified Citizen Engagement Approach (UCEA), a newly developed design-oriented framework for citizen engagement in the energy transition. The preliminary testing and evaluation of several of its pathways in Groningen, the Netherlands, show that the role of design in the energy transition is not limited to the adoption of (co)design tools and methods. Instead, design should be integrated in the process in a more holistic way and on multiple levels, taking into account broader issues than energy, the maturity of local initiatives, and effective communication with stakeholders.
DOCUMENT
Health interventions often do not reach blue-collar workers. Citizen science engages target groups in the design and execution of health interventions, but has not yet been applied in an occupational setting. This preliminary study determines barriers and facilitators and feasible elements for citizen science to improve the health of blue-collar workers. The study was conducted in a terminal and construction company by performing semi-structured interviews and focus groups with employees, company management and experts. Interviews and focus groups were analyzed using thematic content analysis and the elements were pilot tested. Workers considered work pressure, work location and several personal factors as barriers for citizen science at the worksite, and (lack of) social support and (negative) social culture both as barriers and facilitators. Citizen science to improve health at the worksite may include three elements: (1) knowledge and skills, (2) social support and social culture, and (3) awareness about lifestyle behaviors. Strategies to implement these elements may be company specific. This study provides relevant indications on feasible elements and strategies for citizen science to improve health at the worksite. Further studies on the feasibility of citizen science in other settings, including a larger and more heterogeneous sample of blue-collar workers, are necessary.
DOCUMENT
Even though citizen and patient engagement in health research has a long tradition, citizen science in health has only recently gained attention and recognition. However, at present, there is no clear overview of the specifics and challenges of citizen science initiatives in the health domain. Such an overview could contribute to highlighting and articulating the different needs of stakeholders engaged in any form of citizen science in the health domain. It may also encourage the input of citizens and patients alike in health research and innovation, policy, and practice. This paper reports on a survey developed by the European Citizen Science Association (ECSA)’s Working Group “Citizen Science for Health,” to highlight the perceived characteristics and enabling factors of citizen science in the health domain, and to formulate a direction for future work and research. The survey was available in six languages and was open between January and August 2022. The majority of the 254 respondents were from European countries, and the largest stakeholder respondent group was researchers. Respondents were asked about their perspectives on the particular characteristics of citizen science performed in health and biomedical research, as well as the challenges and opportunities it affords. Ethics, the complexity of the health domain, and the overlap in roles whereby the researcher is sometimes also the subject of research, were the main issues suggested as being specific to citizen science in health. The top two areas that respondents identified as in need of development were “balanced return on investment” and “ethics.” This publication discusses these and other conditions with references to current literature.
MULTIFILE
A small group of people managing a swimming pool to prevent it from closing, or a group taking care of a next door public green area. These are examples of citizen initiatives and they are becoming more and more prevalent. Citizen initiatives are a way for citizens to organize themselves and take action to arrange those activities that otherwise would not take place but are nevertheless important to them. But how and under which circumstances do these initiatives function? And how is continuity warranted? This research will focus on the continuity and success and failure factors of citizen initiatives in depopulating rural areas.
DOCUMENT
Summary (English):Current planning policies place great expectations on citizen participation to resolve complex societal and spatial challenges such as urban renewal and housing development. This essay explores what transitions in citizen participation have taken place on this issue in the Netherlands and to what extent citizen participation in its current form can address the complex socio-spatial challenge of providing affordable housing in cities.The essay introduces a paradox of the transition in participation in housing development in the Netherlands as part of broader transformations in Dutch spatial planning and development: in spite of increased institutionalization of participation, the actual citizens seem to have been served less and less. There is potential for the inclusion of citizen participation in the planning processes to encourage acceptance where resource distribution creates conflicts (i.e. affordable housing markets and lack of supply) for more effective cooperation during implementation. However, giving citizens more say in small parcels of spatial development does not disguise and overrule the structural forces in policy and real estate market trends that have grown in the last decades and push out lower and middle income groups from the city.This essay reviews state-of-the-art literature on the evolution of citizen participation, co-creation, and decision-making structures and processes in spatial planning and housing, and discusses participation trajectories in urban developments with housing functions in Amsterdam (Havenstraatterrein, Marineterrein) and Groningen (Suikerunie, Ebbinge), and Almere (Oosterwold) to showcase the paradoxical transition.__Summary (Dutch):Participatie krijgt een steeds prominentere rol in het oplossen van complexe maatschappelijke en ruimtelijke uitdagingen, zoals stedelijke vernieuwing en de ontwikkeling van woningen. Dit essay verkent welke veranderingen zich hebben voorgedaan in de rol die burgers spelen in woningontwikkeling in Nederland en in hoeverre participatie in de huidige vorm helpt om voldoende betaalbare woonruimte te ontwikkelen in de stad.Het essay schetst een paradoxale transitie op het gebied van participatie in de woningbouw in Nederland. De transitie is onderdeel is van grotere veranderingen in ruimtelijke ordening en ruimtelijke ontwikkeling in Nederland. Ondanks toenemende aandacht voor en institutionalisering van participatie in plan- en ontwikkelingsprocessen, lijkt het erop dat de burger die het meest de hulp van de overheid nodig heeft om passende woonruimte te vinden, steeds meer het nakijken heeft gekregen. Burgers een grotere rol geven in de planprocesen en planuitvoering kan helpen de acceptatie van plannen waarin schaarse middelen worden verdeeld, te vergroten. Tot nu toe echter blijft de inspraak van burgers beperkt tot kleine, specifieke gebieden. Deze uitzonderingen bieden onvoldoende tegenwicht aan de structurele krachten in beleid, grond- en vastgoedmarkten die midden- en lagere inkomens de afgelopen jaren steeds verder de stad uit hebben gedreven.Dit essay schetst op basis van literatuurstudie de grote lijnen in de ontwikkeling van woningontwikkeling en participatie sinds de Tweede Wereldoorlog. Op basis daarvan beschouwt het essay de ontwikkeling van participatie, co-creatie en besluitvorming in gebiedsontwikkeling in Amsterdam (Havenstraatterrein, Marineterrein), Groningen (Suikerunie, Ebbinge) en Almere (Oosterwold) om de paradoxale transitie die plaatsvindt in participatie in gebiedsontwikkeling en woningbouw te illustreren.
DOCUMENT
This study analyzes citizen brand ambassadors' motivations and the effects they perceived deriving from participation in a citizen-focused ambassador network which constituted one element of a city's destination brand strategy. The results of this study of Berlin's citizen ambassador program indicate that participating in an ambassador program resulted in perceived positive effects for ambassadors. One major finding is that few citizens engaged in the ambassador program due to feelings of commitment or civic pride, but rather as a means to enhance the reach and exposure of their individual projects. A further finding was that ambassadors did not voluntarily function as active message senders on an individual level. The study reveals new insight into the key factors of the decision-making process determining whether citizens engage or do not engage with ambassador programs.
LINK
