Federal Crowdsourcing Webinar Series, Episode 1: Citizen Science

View the slides from this presentation (PDF, 10 MB, 32 pages).

This is the first installment in GSA’s Federal Crowdsourcing Webinar Series. You will hear how federal agencies are reaching beyond their walls to source talent and enthusiasm, and can multiply the ideas and perspectives being brought to a particular issue.

The series launches with a look at the Federal Community of Practice for Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science (FedCCS), a grassroots community open to all federal practitioners working on, funding, or just interested in learning more about crowdsourcing and citizen science.

Learn about resources produced by the community and available on CitizenScience.gov, a program and website launched in 2016 as a central hub for federally sponsored citizen science and crowdsourcing projects. This site helps federal agencies design and advertise projects that engage volunteers in solving real-world problems, often through participation in the scientific process.

This episode features examples of hazard-related citizen science projects at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and disaster-related crowdsourcing activities at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Crowdsourcing Unit.

Featured Guests from FedCCS:

• John McLaughlin, CitizenScience.gov Program Manager, U.S. General Services Administration
• Sophia B Liu, Innovation Specialist, Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science Coordinator, U.S. Geological Survey; Co-Chair of FedCCS

Upcoming episodes in the Federal Crowdsourcing Webinar Series include:

• May 14: Challenge.gov, General Services Administration
• June 11: The Opportunity Project, U.S. Census Bureau
• July 9: Open Opportunities, Office of Personnel Management
• August 13: History By the People, Library of Congress

For information on this episode or upcoming events in the crowdsourcing series, contact team@challenge.gov.

This talk is hosted by Challenge.gov. Managed by GSA, Challenge.gov serves as both the official listing of prize competitions across government, as well as a centralized platform for federal agencies to market and manage their problem-solving events. The program also designs resources and training, which have helped more than 100 federal agencies run over 900 prize competitions with public participation since 2010.

Questions about this event or future events? Send them to digitalgov@gsa.gov.