CSIC Brings Citizen Science Infrastructure Expertise to CAPS 2025 in Portland
📆 27–30 May 2025
📌Portland, Oregon, USA
The Environmental and Sustainability Participatory Information Systems group (EMBIMOS, ICM-CSIC) will actively contribute to the 2025 Conference for Advancing the Participatory Sciences (CAPS 2025) in Portland, Oregon.
Hosted
The conference is hosted by the Association for Advancing Participatory Sciences (AAPS), and gathers global leaders in citizen science, participatory research, and public engagement.
EMBIMOS (ICM-CSIC) will showcase its work through a talk, a poster presentation, and co-leadership of a symposium focusing on the co-design and governance of citizen science as research infrastructure.
Key Highlights from
CSIC at CAPS 2025
🔹 Symposium (28 May)
“Citizen Science Research Infrastructure: A Co-Design Experience”
This is a 75-minute session focused on lessons learned from existing participatory science platforms co-organised by RIECS-Concept partners Dilek Fraisl (IIASA & CSGP), Francisco Sanz (Ibercivis), Franziska Stressmann (ECSA), Jaume Piera and Karen Soacha (CSIC & RICAP – Ibero-American Participatory Science Network), and Kai-Ti Wu (ECSA) and brings together insights from iNaturalist, the UN Statistics Division, citsci.org, Zooniverse, Amazon Waters, and others. The discussion will share practical insights to shape the roadmap for a future participatory-science-oriented research infrastructure.
🔹 Talk by Karen Soacha (29 May)
“Decalogue of Principles for Participatory Observatories as Research Infrastructure”
Karen Soacha will present ten core principles derived from the MINKA citizen observatory, including Data Sovereignty, Inclusive Governance, and Open Science Integration – key pillars shaping CSIC’s contributions to citizen science data governance.
“Turning citizen observatories into formal infrastructures is the next leap for equitable, high-resolution environmental evidence.” — Karen Soacha, EMBIMOS, ICM-CSIC
🔹 Poster Presentation
CSIC researchers Jaume and Karen also are part of the team presenting a poster created with the RICAP network (Ibero-American Participatory Science Network), Cornell University and the Wildlife Conservation Society as part of the work of the CODATA-WDS TG on Citizen-Generated Data for the SDGs “Participatory Science in Latin America & Caribbean: Mapping Contributions to SDG Monitoring.”
The poster reviews initiatives across the region, identifies the Sustainable Development Goal indicators already supported by their data and highlights those where future contributions are possible, showing how regional efforts can complement formal research infrastructures.
The knowledge and discussions shared at CAPS 2025 will directly inform Task 3.2 of the RIECS project, which focuses on prototyping services for participatory science research infrastructure. Conference updates and presentation materials will be shared on the RIECS website and social channels, and attendees can meet the RIECS team in person throughout the event.
For registration and full event details, visit the CAPS 2025 website.