From Data to Transformative Change: Designing Interactive Systems for Citizen Science Empowerment

Abstract

Citizen Science (CS) is a research approach in which scientists and everyday people collaborate to address a research problem. Advancements in digital technologies have significantly expanded the reach of Citizen Science by enabling large-scale data collection and collaboration. In addition to its scientific benefits, citizen science enhances participants’ science literacy, fosters public engagement, and promotes collaborative problem-solving. Despite this being true, we believe that the true potential of CS has not yet been fully explored as a collaborative practice for transformative change. With this in mind, we planned a one-day workshop as a forum for critical discussions and reflections on the role of HCI researchers, designers, and practitioners in designing CS-empowered interactive systems for increasing awareness about social good and societal issues and promoting concrete actions and behavioural change, from data to sustainable futures. Participants will have the possibility to reflect on and discuss the main open challenges still affecting the design of CS-empowered interactive systems, and to prototype, exploiting data physicalization and co-design, solutions that focus on a specific real-world challenge as presented by experts of the Madeira Island that offers a unique ecosystem to spark reflections on the interplay between sustainability, technology and CS.