Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/318774 
Year of Publication: 
2021
Citation: 
[Journal:] Business Systems Research (BSR) [ISSN:] 1847-9375 [Volume:] 12 [Issue:] 2 [Year:] 2021 [Pages:] 221-235
Publisher: 
Sciendo, Warsaw
Abstract: 
Background: Citizen science offers an attractive paradigm for addressing some of the complex problems facing society. However, translating the paradigm's potential into meaningful action and sustainable impact remains a formidable challenge. Historically, the citizen science landscape was fractured into silos of activities; nonetheless, it has demonstrably delivered credible results. An innovative concept of the Citizen Observatory offers a tractable means of mitigating many of the recurring issues that historically afflicted citizen science initiatives, thus empowering a new generation of citizen scientists. Citizen Observatories may be regarded as open, standardised software platforms for community-based monitoring of any phenomenon of interest. Objectives: This paper seeks to validate a Citizen Observatory in a traditional citizen science context, that of butterfly recording. Methods/Approach: A case study was undertaken in a UNESCO-designated Biosphere Reserve. Results: A community of citizen scientists successfully recorded various observations concerning butterflies, their feeding behaviours, and their habitat. The resultant dataset was made available to the local government environmental agency. Conclusions: The Citizen Observatory model offers a realistic basis for enabling more sustainable participatory science activities. Such developments have implications for non-government organisations, businesses, and local governments.
Subjects: 
citizen science
Citizen Observatory
open science
participatory
JEL: 
Q55
Q01
O35
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Creative Commons License: 
cc-by Logo
Document Type: 
Article

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