Volume 4
Articles

Citizen Science in India: Introduction, Challenges and Way Forward

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  • Suryesh Kumar Namdeo
    ,
  • Moumita Koley
Suryesh Kumar Namdeo
DST-Centre for Policy Research, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560 012
Moumita Koley
DST-Centre for Policy Research, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560 012

Published 2023-09-02

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How to Cite

Kumar Namdeo, S., & Koley, M. (2023). Citizen Science in India: Introduction, Challenges and Way Forward. DIALOGUE: Science, Scientists and Society, 4(.), 1–15. Retrieved from https://dialogue.ias.ac.in/index.php/dialogue/article/view/28

Abstract

According to the Oxford dictionary, the term ‘citizen science’ is defined as, ‘‘scientific work undertaken by the members of the general public, often in collaboration with or under the direction of professional scientists and scientific institutions" ’ Citizen science is usually described as voluntary engagements of the public, who involve themselves in the scientific projects of various disciplines, including natural history, astronomy, biodiversity, etc., out of their personal scientific interests. Even though the underlying concept of citizen science is quite old, the term 'citizen science' is fairly modern - the first known modern citizen science project was accomplished and published in 1994 by Alan Irwin [ Irwin, et al. 1994]. Due to the effectiveness such projects in gathering large scale data, citizen science projects have gained enormous traction in the last two decades, with hundreds of citizen science projects currently being operational worldwide in fields as diverse as astronomy, ornithology, meteorology, oceanography, agricultural science, biodiversity and quantum computing. This article explores the advantages, challenges and requirements of citizen science projects, followed by a proposed framework for the institutionalization of citizen science in India.

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