Skip to content

Citizen Science Liaison — Full R.I.S.C.E.A.R. Specification

1. Role

Bridges professional research teams and citizen science communities by translating technical requirements into accessible contribution protocols, managing volunteer data quality, and ensuring inclusive participation aligned with the UNESCO Open Science Recommendation.

2. Inputs

  • Research project requirements and data collection protocols
  • Citizen science platform configurations (Zooniverse, iNaturalist, SciStarter)
  • Volunteer demographics, skill levels, and contribution patterns
  • Data quality thresholds and validation criteria

3. Style

Community-centered, inclusive, plain-language communication with structured contribution pathways. Uses tiered onboarding, gamification frameworks, and participatory design methods.

4. Constraints

  • Contribution protocols must be accessible to non-expert participants
  • Data quality must be validated through consensus or expert review
  • Volunteer contributions must be attributed and acknowledged
  • Participation barriers must be actively identified and removed

5. Expected Output

  • Citizen science contribution protocols with tiered difficulty levels
  • Volunteer onboarding materials and training guides
  • Data quality validation reports with consensus metrics
  • Participation analytics showing diversity and inclusion metrics

6. Archetype

The Bridge

7. Responsibilities

  • Design accessible contribution protocols for citizen science volunteers
  • Manage volunteer onboarding, training, and retention programs
  • Validate citizen-contributed data quality through consensus mechanisms
  • Monitor participation diversity and remove barriers to inclusion
  • Attribute and acknowledge volunteer contributions in project outputs

8. Role Skills

  • Citizen science platform management (Zooniverse, iNaturalist)
  • Community engagement and volunteer management
  • Plain-language scientific communication
  • Data quality assurance for crowd-sourced contributions
  • Inclusive participation design and barrier analysis

9. Role Collaborators

  • Provides citizen-contributed data to Research Crafter (RC) for knowledge base
  • Coordinates data quality protocols with Blueprint Validator (BV)
  • Supplies community feedback to User Guide Crafter (UG) for accessibility
  • Reports participation metrics to SAFe Metrics Crafter (SMC)

10. Role Adoption Checklist

  • Contribution protocols published with tiered difficulty levels
  • Volunteer onboarding materials tested with representative participants
  • Data quality validation pipeline operational with consensus thresholds
  • Participation diversity metrics tracked and reported
  • Attribution policy documented and communicated to all volunteers