Project

CS Co-labs: Collaborative Citizen Science labs

Active project

2026–2027

Project contact

Citizen science and adjacent participatory methods are increasingly encouraged by funders and important for producing meaningful and trusted knowledge. These approaches help ensure that research reflects the needs and experiences of communities. They are central to SEI’s work on environmental and social sustainability and used widely in research across the University of York.

Although interest in these methods is growing, researchers can find them difficult to use in practice. It can be challenging to design a project that is both inclusive and scientifically rigorous, and work with participants ethically and with sensitivity, especially within the constraints of research funding.

CS Co-labs has been set up to respond to this challenge by creating a shared space for those using, or interested in using, citizen science methods to access support, learn from experience and explore new approaches. It is run by Inclusive Citizen Science, the citizen science research group at our York centre, which has been using, evaluating and developing citizen science methodologies since 2008.

We aim to strengthen capacity, particularly across SEI and the University of York, to deliver high quality, inclusive, and robust citizen science and adjacent participatory approaches.

CS Co-labs offers:

‘Clinics’: opportunities for people to book time to discuss their research projects, proposals or problems with us, for guidance or knowledge sharing;
Topic-based discussion sessions: sharing our experiences with different aspects of citizen science, inviting reflections from participants, and facilitating discussion for collective learning; and
Accessible resources: which we will develop during the project, to share learning with the wider community.

We will also set up an advisory board composed of citizen science participants, to oversee the project and ensure what we do is relevant and appropriate.

CS Co-labs launched in Summer 2026 with an in-person event at the University of York and two online events. See the slides we used to introduce the project.

Slides_CS_ Co-labs_online_launch

Join the CS Co-labs mailing list to:

receive invitations to discussion sessions
get instructions for requesting a clinic
hear about new resources

Join the mailing list

We are running a series of topic-based discussion sessions from September 2026 to March 2027. In each session: members of our team will give a brief presentation sharing our experiences and understanding of the topic, before inviting reflections from participants and facilitating discussion for collective learning.

Details of upcoming sessions, and notes and slides from past sessions, are available on our CS Co-labs Discussion Series webpage.

Join the CS Co-labs mailing list to receive invitations to discussion sessions.

What is citizen science and how does it relate to other participatory methods? (CS Co-labs discussion 1)

Past event / In this first CS Co-labs discussion session we provided a general introduction to citizen science, as we understand it, and facilitated a group discussion.

09 September 2026

Three people in discussion — Photo: SEI York

Bespoke advice on citizen science

If you are using citizen science methods for a research project, or thinking about the possibility, you can book an advice session with us to discuss any questions you have. We can offer support on a range of aspects, including but not limited to:

developing proposals and refining project plans
collecting, managing and using citizen science project data
ethics and safeguarding considerations for citizen science projects
addressing mid-project problems
designing evaluation methods

These sessions are available to any researcher or practitioner, irrespective of your location, institution (or none) or knowledge level.

Sessions are free to advisees, being funded by SEI York and driven by our goal to create a shared space where colleagues can access tailored support, learn from others’ experiences, and explore new approaches. Sessions offer advisee-centred support based on mutual respect and peer learning.

Our expertise covers both the theory of citizen science and the practice of citizen science across a range of topic areas:

Topic	Advice relating to…
Inclusion	ensuring citizen science projects are inclusive for participants, considerations of diversity and accessibility
Project Management	planning and resourcing citizen science projects
Engagement	maintaining engagement of citizen science project participants during and after project lifetimes
Communication	communicating with potential and actual participants and communicating findings and recommendations to participants and stakeholders
Evaluation	evaluating citizen science projects to understand impacts and effects
Digital Citizen Science	online citizen science project opportunities, barriers and engagement
Software	using technology to widen and deepen engagement with citizen science projects
Schools	engaging with schools, conducting citizen science research projects in schools, producing resources with schools
Environmental Education	using citizen science for education, particularly environmental and experiential education
Creative Methods	using the creative arts, especially theatre, for engaging in participatory environmental education research
Environmental Monitoring	using citizen science approaches for environmental monitoring, including air quality, water and biodiversity
Energy Systems	applying citizen science methods to projects exploring alternative energy sources and systems, including community energy, and related considerations including retrofitting
Just Transitions	engaging communities and grassroots organisations on initiatives transitioning towards a just society

Please note that our definition of ‘science’ includes anything with a research question, so we welcome bookings from those outside of traditional ‘science’ fields.