Event Date
Presented by: Office of Research
Join the Office of Research on Friday, December 13 at 10:30 a.m. to learn about how scientists in a vast array of disciplines are engaging members of the public in community and citizen science. From global projects to hyperlocal community-based projects, there are many ways of working with people who do not self-identify as professional scientists, but who can contribute meaningfully to research. And there are many different potential benefits, including opening up new opportunities for discovery and understanding, and new ways of working on questions that could never have been answered without participatory approaches.
Heidi Ballard and Ryan Meyer, from the UC Davis Center for Community and Citizen Science – one of several units on campus doing work in this area – will connect attendees with resources and ideas for getting started on participatory projects, and describe upcoming opportunities for UCD researchers to workshop their ideas.
Heidi Ballard
Professor and Chancellor’s Fellow
Founder and Faculty Director, Center for Community and Citizen Science
Heidi Ballard is interested in environmental education that links communities, science, environmental action and learners of all ages. She is particularly interested in what and how people learn through public participation in scientific research (PPSR) as a form of informal science education. From citizen science-type projects for conservation to participatory action research for natural resources management and environmental justice, PPSR projects can create unique opportunities for learning by participants and scientists. Understanding the outcomes and processes of these projects can contribute to better practices in environmental and science education, and better conservation and natural resource management.
Ryan Meyer
Executive Director, Center for Community and Citizen Science
Ryan Meyer’s career has focused on the dynamics between science society, and on the role of science in environmental decision making. He has studied and written about science funding, the role of public values in our science system, boundary organizations and co-production of science for decision making, and public participation in research.
Ryan was previously Program Director at the California Ocean Science Trust, a non-profit boundary organization that helps scientists and decision makers collaborate more effectively. He completed his PhD at Arizona State University, where he conducted research on climate science funding in the US and Australia. He is a Fulbright Scholar, an affiliate of the Consortium for Science, Policy, and Outcomes at Arizona State University, and a 2023 Public Scholarship Faculty Fellow.