GOVERNANCE & INTEGRATION
Leuven
MOVING DIALOGUE ONLINE
As COVID-19 hit the world came to a screeching halt, yet citizen science persevered. Citizen scientists were able to continue conducting experiments and participate in research projects from the safety of their homes. As told by Sophie Laggan, Margarida Sardo and Cláudia Ribeiro, WeCount’s experience demonstrates that, despite the challenge of shifting to hybrid engagement methods, the effort is worthwhile.
WeCount: live traffic counting by citizens - Leuven, ©WeCount
COVID-19 has been tough for science and technology projects. The pandemic rendered conventional research and engagement methods almost impossible, and many were forced to return to the drawing board, or – in some cases – abandon projects altogether. However, citizen science did not just survive: it thrived. Using a hybrid approach of face-to-face and online interaction, projects like WeCount have successfully expanded and enhanced their operations.
WeCount is a technology-mediated citizen science project measuring traffic and air quality in cities across Europe – a European project that enables citizens to initiate a policy-making process with fully automated measurement data in the field of mobility and air quality. The concept is simple: with a sensor in combination with a low-cost computer and software (a Telraam sensor), anyone can count the traffic in his or her street. And with this measurement data, an individual citizen or a group of citizens can contact the local or regional government.
Rather than passively crowdsourcing data (the approach taken by most environmentally based citizen science projects) WeCount sought to actively build sustainable mobility communities, training local citizens in data collection and analysis and co-designing solutions. When the COVID-19 pandemic forced face-to-face engagements online, the project team had to quickly adapt and rethink how to recruit, engage and maintain the enthusiasm and participation of citizens.
With a sensor in combination with a low-cost computer and software, anyone can count the traffic in his or her street from the comfort of their home
©Bernard Hermant
Adapting, improve, overcome
As research has shown, building a community, peer support and building trust with researchers through face-to-face interactions, are key elements for sustaining long-term motivation in citizen science projects and for maximising learning (Cappa et al. 2015; Pina et al. 2017). Recreating these aspects online is challenging for a number of reasons, including digital fatigue and a shorter attention span. It is also harder for participants to start on the same footing, as they will likely have variable digital skills. Citizen science’s main strength is allowing anyone to contribute regardless of prior subject knowledge; when citizen science requires an online interface it immediately narrows down your pool of potential participants. Aware of the limitations of learning and sustaining motivation online, the case study leaders had a steep learning curve ahead of them in redesigning every aspect of the citizen’s journey. Originally, there were plans to recruit participants through a mixture of local events, social media, and community champions, who acted as gatekeepers to certain groups. The majority of local events had to be cancelled as venues closed and more restrictions came into place. It also became somewhat harder to reach certain demographics, especially those with no access to Wi-Fi or laptops. However, ties with community champions, such as campaign groups working on similar issues or community organisations, became stronger as they united to maintain momentum going during trying times. Another silver lining was that social media perhaps received more attention than was initially planned and with a captive audience this paid dividend to recruitment and ongoing engagement, at least for those citizens with active accounts.
Aware of the limitations of learning and sustaining motivation online, the case study leaders had a steep learning curve ahead of them in redesigning every aspect of the citizen’s journey
One of the Citizen Science top tips is to “take a hybrid approach”, ©WeCount
Due to the complexity of the issues being explored by WeCount, and the need to explain to citizens about the sensor technology, initial face-to-face meetings with citizen recruits (when safe and allowed) were most effective. Not only did this build two-way trust and understanding, these interactions led to more people attending a follow-on workshop or finishing the project cycle than by those that were engaged initially online. Doorstep conversations between researcher and citizen during sensor drop-off moments afforded rare moments of human connection at a time when face-to-face contact was limited.
Once citizens were recruited, staff had to adapt for online delivery of workshops. In addition to selecting appropriate platforms to interact with citizens, they had to figure out ways to keep interactions fun. Thanks to new online tools, staff were able to play games, use digital whiteboards, and run surveys with participants in much the same way as they would in a real-world setting. Yet both they and the participants needed training in how to use these them.
The unstoppable tide
WeCount citizen scientists have shown remarkable resilience during these trying times. They quickly adapted to a new reality and made sure that the existing context would not hinder them from engaging in data gathering and analysis. We highlight specific inspirational examples of our citizen’s resilience and proactivity.
Take the example of Leuven, birthplace of the Telraam sensor, where local activists have leveraged project activities and used the device to ensure speed compliance in a particular inner ring street. The Brusselsestraat is a central route, which has seen its speed limit lowered from 50 km/h to 30 km/h. Despite welcoming this measure, the local citizen group “S.O.S Brusselsestraat” argues that compliance with the speed limit has remained low. They actively campaigned to convince the local authority to implement additional measures to ensure the enforcement of the speed limit. One of their citizens decided to take matters into her own hands and signed up to participate in WeCount. She did so with one goal in mind.
The speed was very high, and the 30 km/h zone was not respected. We wanted to demonstrate the traffic flows and ratios as well as the speed in black and white with figures to the city council and the police.
Their efforts were rewarded with the local authority installing a digital sign indicating speed to the passing car in May 2020, followed by the installation of a temporary speed bump. This is where the beauty of Telraam comes in. Since there was already a sensor in place, another member of the citizen group analysed the data to assess the impact of the measures. The effect of both interventions is clear with a decrease of speed limit non-compliance of the first intervention from 47.85% to 36.27%. The speed bump installation decreased non-compliance further to 8.02%.
Traffic count in Leuven’s Brusselsestraat, a central route, which has seen its speed limit lowered from 50 km/h to 30 km/h, ©Ludo Proost
Hybrid citizen engagement methods deliver results
From this experience of shifting engagements online, the project advises the following for any forthcoming citizen science project:
- To ascertain how each target audience relates to technology (e.g., digital skills, access to technology, etc.) in different ways prior to carrying out any citizen science project;
- To opt for in-person engagement to build community, trust, and confidence early on;
- To use online interactions wisely, such as pre-recorded training videos or Q&A sessions;
- To use a physical sensor, be that a traffic counter or a strawberry plant biosensor, to spark conversations and ‘hook’ people in;
- To find mechanisms to show how the data is used by citizens, the project team and decision makers – citizens often like to see that they are contributing to research or policy making.
Another Citizen Science top tip is to “make online intimate”, ©WeCount
WeCount’s potential to assist in providing data for urban mobility planning, particularly at the local level, has been highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Project coordinators gave several recommendations:
- To ascertain how each target audience relates to technology (e.g., digital skills, access to technology, etc.) in different ways prior to carrying out any citizen science project;
- To opt for in-person engagement to build community, trust, and confidence early on;
- To use online interactions wisely, such as pre-recorded training videos or Q&A sessions;
- To use a physical sensor, be that a traffic counter or a strawberry plant biosensor, to spark conversations and ‘hook’ people in;
- To find mechanisms to show how the data is used by citizens, the project team and decision makers – citizens often like to see that they are contributing to research or policy making.
Hybrid citizen engagement approaches to deliver citizen-led project results in times of a pandemic
To assist other citizen science projects in hybrid citizen engagement approaches, WeCount published a policy brief, detailing a series of recommendations from their experiences in Spanish and Belgian pilots.
Sophie Laggan and Margarida Sardo are, respectively, Project Coordinator for Citizen Engagement in Healthy Urban Development and Senior Research Fellow at the University of the West England. Cláudia Ribeiro is Project Officer at POLIS Network. Contact them: sophie.laggan@uwe.ac.uk, margarida.sardo@uwe.ac.uk and cribeiro@polisnetwork.eu
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