{
    "version" : "https://jsonfeed.org/version/1",
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    "type" : "single",
    "title" : "A New Team Strives to Coordinate Citizen Science, Crowdsourcing Across Government |Digital.gov",
    "description": "A New Team Strives to Coordinate Citizen Science, Crowdsourcing Across Government",
    "home_page_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/","feed_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2016/01/20/a-new-team-strives-to-coordinate-citizen-science-crowdsourcing-across-government/index.json","item" : [
    {"title" :"A New Team Strives to Coordinate Citizen Science, Crowdsourcing Across Government","summary" : "A government can accomplish nothing without the ingenuity of its people. This is why the federal government is committed to using online tools to make its problem-solving more open and collaborative. A growing number of agencies are testing the applications of crowdsourcing and citizen science to accomplish more, and in many cases, do things faster","date" : "2016-01-20T10:00:29-04:00","date_modified" : "2025-01-27T19:42:55-05:00","authors" : {"eric-beidel" : "Eric Beidel"},"topics" : {
        
            "crowdsourcing-and-citizen-science" : "Crowdsourcing and citizen science"
            },"branch" : "bc-archive-content-3",
      "filename" :"2016-01-20-a-new-team-strives-to-coordinate-citizen-science-crowdsourcing-across-government.md",
      
      "filepath" :"news/2016/01/2016-01-20-a-new-team-strives-to-coordinate-citizen-science-crowdsourcing-across-government.md",
      "filepathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/blob/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2016/01/2016-01-20-a-new-team-strives-to-coordinate-citizen-science-crowdsourcing-across-government.md",
      "editpathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/edit/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2016/01/2016-01-20-a-new-team-strives-to-coordinate-citizen-science-crowdsourcing-across-government.md","slug" : "a-new-team-strives-to-coordinate-citizen-science-crowdsourcing-across-government","url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2016/01/20/a-new-team-strives-to-coordinate-citizen-science-crowdsourcing-across-government/","content" :"\u003cp\u003eA government can accomplish nothing without the ingenuity of its people. \u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2014/12/600-x-415-Light-bulb-with-drawing-business-success-strategy-plan-idea-graphicnoi-iStock-Thinkstock-460807473.jpg\"\n    alt=\"Light bulb with drawing of various business and strategy imagery\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is why the federal government is committed to using online tools to make its problem-solving more open and collaborative.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA growing number of agencies are testing the applications of crowdsourcing and citizen science to accomplish more, and in many cases, do things faster and better.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCase in point: the National Archives and Records Administration’s \u003ca href=\"http://www.archives.gov/citizen-archivist/\"\u003eCitizen Archivist Dashboard\u003c/a\u003e, which coordinates tagging and transcribing of historical records and documents. In one show of its effectiveness, more than 170,000 volunteers indexed 132 million names from the 1940 census records in just five months.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2016/01/600-x-400-Citizen-Archivist-Dashboard-by-National-Archives.jpg\"\n    alt=\"Screen capture of the Citizen Archivist Dashboard homepage.\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eNow, the White House, U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) and partners are undertaking a series of initiatives to help manage the momentum of projects like these across the federal government.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJohn Holdren, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), recently issued a \u003ca href=\"https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/holdren_citizen_science_memo_092915_0.pdf\"\u003ememo\u003c/a\u003e (PDF, 229KB, 11 pages, September 2015) that outlines principles agencies should apply to achieve the greatest impact using citizen science and crowdsourcing.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the memo, Holdren recommends ways agencies can build capacity for using these methods to address societal needs and advance science and technology. The memo also directed agencies to take two specific steps: identify a coordinator for such projects and catalog all citizen science and crowdsourcing initiatives in an online database.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHere’s the latest on what’s happening.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"published-the-public-sectors-guide-to-citizen-science\"\u003ePublished: The Public Sector’s Guide to Citizen Science\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRecently, OSTP and GSA unveiled a \u003ca href=\"https://crowdsourcing-toolkit.sites.usa.gov/\"\u003etoolkit\u003c/a\u003e to help federal agencies undertake crowdsourcing and citizen science projects. The toolkit—which offers case studies, how-to guides, and legal/policy advice—will help federal employees:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLearn how crowdsourcing and citizen science can support their agency missions\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePartner with the public to collect and analyze meaningful data\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSelect the right methods and tools for every project\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePitch new kinds of projects to agency leaders and partners\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDesign crowdsourcing and citizen science projects for success.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe toolkit, however, requires agency practitioners to offer their learnings, examples and other updates to remain relevant as the crowdsourcing and citizen science initiative spreads across government.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"enter-the-agency-coordinator-hahahugoshortcode2783s2hbhb\"\u003eEnter the Agency Coordinator \u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2015/07/600-x-400-Silhouettes-of-Business-People-Discussing-Outdoors-Rawpixel-Ltd-iStock-Thinkstock-490926205.jpg\"\n    alt=\"Silhouettes of business people having discussions\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCoordinators at each federal agency, managed by GSA,have begun working with OSTP and the \u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/communities/crowdsourcing-citizen-science/\"\u003eFederal Community of Practice for Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science\u003c/a\u003e, to help track and organize the growing number of crowdsourcing projects.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAppointed by their agencies, these coordinators will help with a variety of activities, including:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWorking with OSTP and GSA to develop requirements for a citizen science and crowdsourcing database, to serve as a catalog for all such projects across government\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCollaborating to increase interagency coordination and to participate in future policy-development discussions on this subject\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTeaming to encourage public awareness of and participation in citizen science and crowdsourcing efforts.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs coordinators, these individuals will advocate for citizen science and crowdsourcing where possible, and provide a support network and mentoring for each other and their respective agencies for future projects.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAdditionally, they will be instrumental in making the GSA crowdsourcing catalog as useful as possible for members of the federal government community and citizens everywhere.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"a-project-catalog\"\u003eA Project Catalog\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGSA is in the process of building an online database, or catalog, that will house information on all crowdsourcing and citizen science initiatives across the federal government.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe database will make it easier for the public to discover citizen science opportunities as well as inspire agencies to connect and launch new projects that deliver benefits for the government and public at large.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere are several users envisioned for this catalog, including:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFederal practitioners, who can use it to find information on federally supported projects\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFederal decision makers, who can identify projects at their agencies and pinpoint opportunities to use crowdsourcing and citizen science to advance their missions\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe public, who can find information and volunteer for projects\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOther stakeholders, who can share data and align policies.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUltimately, these combined efforts aim to knock down any remaining barriers to making crowdsourcing and citizen science a crucial part of every agency’s innovation strategy.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNOTE: All of the efforts described in this article have benefitted from key contributions from the Federal Community of Practice for Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science, a grassroots group founded in 2012. About 200 members from more than 40 federal agencies and departments share lessons learned, best practices and training.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe group meets monthly and operates a listserv. To subscribe, \u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/communities/challenges-prizes/\"\u003evisit the community on DigitalGov\u003c/a\u003e or email \u003ca href=\"mailto:Ruthanna.emrysgordon@iarpa.gov\"\u003eRuthanna Gordon\u003c/a\u003e with any questions.\u003c/p\u003e\n"}
  ]
}