Accepting Proposals for the 2025 Citizen Science Incubator
Do you have a scientific question that could engage the campus community in the research process? If so, your project could be this year’s highlighted project through the Citizen Science Campus!
Deadline: Friday, May 30, 11:59 p.m.
Background
Citizen science and other participatory sciences are the range of approaches in which science and society co-produce new knowledge. Many disciplines have their own forms of participatory research, and these research methods can be an effective way to gather data for complex and widespread challenges. We want to turn NC State’s campus into an incubator for participatory science projects and embed these opportunities into campus life.
We are excited to announce a call for proposals for the Citizen Science Incubator, a program for identifying 1-2 focal projects of the year for the Citizen Science Campus. The selected Citizen Science Incubator project(s) will be featured in two unique campus programs:
- Pack Science Challenge, a university-wide challenge that engages students and community members as collaborators in ongoing research about their environment
- Wicked Problems, Wolfpack Solutions, a multidisciplinary online course created to engage all incoming first-year and transfer students and their families in thinking about grand challenges.
Projects can apply to be featured in one or both of these programs, depending on their aims, scope, and study design. At most one project will be selected for each of these programs, with the potential for a single project to be selected for both if it is well suited for implementation in both formats.
Eligibility
This opportunity is open to all faculty, staff, postdoctoral scholars, graduate students, and undergraduate students at NC State. NC State community members from any disciplinary background with a participatory science-based project idea are encouraged to submit a proposal. We welcome proposals from individuals or teams.
While there are no requirements for the topical focus of the project, interdisciplinary questions and/or teams are strongly encouraged. This year’s Wicked Problems, Wolfpack Solutions course theme is “(Y)Our Changing World,” which dives into the grand challenges of climate change and global change broadly. It is preferred, but not required, that projects align with this theme.
Award Information
The primary benefit awarded through the Citizen Science Incubator is increased access to potential participants for your participatory science project to drive forward your research. The Wicked Problems, Wolfpack Solutions course is offered to all incoming undergraduate students – approximately 7,000. The Pack Science Challenge is a university-wide challenge with potential to reach across the entire campus community.
In addition to this audience access, the Citizen Science Incubator project(s) will receive access to a variety of support structures, including:
- Logistical guidance from the Citizen Science Campus
- Advertising support
- If applicable, support from the Libraries’ Data and Visualization Services team to help create ways for people to engage with the data
- Funding for promotional items
- $1,000 – $2,000 for undergraduate research assistant(s) on the project
- $500 – $1,000 for research supplies
- Assistance from graduate students in PSC 551
Please note that the selected project’s lead/primary investigator (PI) will be responsible for implementing the participatory science project.
Interested, but not sure where to start? Attend the Citizen Science Project Development Workshop
Date: Thursday May 15, 2025, 11a.m.- 2 p.m.
Location: Biltmore Hall 2026
Potential applicants for the Citizen Science Incubator are highly encouraged to attend this workshop! Workshop participants will receive assistance in developing the main components of their potential citizen science project. The workshop will cover topics such as identifying the appropriateness of a citizen science approach for the research question of interest, developing clear volunteer protocols, approaches for ensuring data quality fit for intended uses, and ethical obligations to participants such as communication of results and dissemination of findings.
Please register by May 12th so we can order lunches in advance.
- Categories: