�Ӱ�ֱ��

will serve as a hub for citizen scientists, collating a list of vetted scientific projects and promoting citizen science best practices, building on a tested and internationally recognised infrastructure from the United States and the Atlas of living �Ӱ�ֱ��’s BioCollect platform.

“With SciStarter �Ӱ�ֱ�� now live, it has never been easier to find a project that interests you and for the public to contribute to the understanding of our world,” says project co-lead Professor Frank Grützner, from the �Ӱ�ֱ�� of Adelaide’s School of Biological Sciences and the��Environment Institute.

“We hope SciStarter �Ӱ�ֱ�� will bring new capabilities and increase participation in citizen science projects here in South �Ӱ�ֱ�� and across the country.”

SciStarter �Ӱ�ֱ��, which has launched in beta form, will enable greater accessibility to and visibility about science projects that are open to public participation and collaboration.

Project co-lead Professor Rachel Ankeny, from the �Ӱ�ֱ�� of Adelaide’s School of Humanities, says the project will provide insights into how citizen science is performed in �Ӱ�ֱ��.

“The SciStarter �Ӱ�ֱ�� platform will allow us to investigate how citizen science is being done and initiate more efforts to diversify participation so that all �Ӱ�ֱ��ns can collaborate on these important scientific activities,” says Professor Ankeny.

“It will also allow more engagement with communities and businesses so that their members can volunteer for citizen science activities that align with their interests and skills."

SciStarter �Ӱ�ֱ�� received a $160,000 grant from the South �Ӱ�ֱ��n government’s Citizen Science Fund.

Its advisory board includes members representing Flinders �Ӱ�ֱ��, the �Ӱ�ֱ�� of South �Ӱ�ֱ��, the �Ӱ�ֱ��n Citizen Science Association including the SA Chapter, the Atlas of Living �Ӱ�ֱ�� (ALA), the South �Ӱ�ֱ��n Department for Environment and Water, and SciStarter (USA).

Just like science is a collaborative pursuit, Professor Ankeny says partnership and collaboration were key to the project coming to fruition.

“The goal of the new SciStarter �Ӱ�ֱ�� platform is to provide a sustainable and accessible space for those conducting citizen science projects to make potential participants aware of their fantastic projects, and hence it is a collaboration between all with interests in �Ӱ�ֱ��n citizen science,” she says.

Dr Annie Lane, Chair of the �Ӱ�ֱ��n Citizen Science Association, says she is thrilled to be able to celebrate the launch of SciStarter �Ӱ�ֱ��.

“This initiative aims to mobilise the �Ӱ�ֱ��n public and facilitate connections between people and scientists and the diverse range of scientific projects conducted by community groups,” says Dr Lane.

“Citizen science empowers individuals to contribute to the creation of new knowledge through collaborative scientific investigation. SciStarter �Ӱ�ֱ�� will facilitate this involvement by assisting people in discovering projects of interest and joining relevant communities.”

Director of the ALA, Dr Andre Zerger, says SciStarter �Ӱ�ֱ�� will positively impact what his organisation can achieve.

“Citizen science is an important data source for the ALA, and we have a long history of partnerships with the citizen science community as the national biodiversity data aggregator,” Dr Zerger says.

“SciStarter �Ӱ�ֱ�� will make participating in citizen science projects easier and more discoverable for local communities, better enabling stronger research and biodiversity outcomes for �Ӱ�ֱ��.”

SciStarter Founder, Professor Darlene Cavalier, says she is excited to see the initiative she started reach further across the world.

“This collaboration aims to leverage the technological infrastructure of SciStarter to help efficiently and effectively connect �Ӱ�ֱ��ns to citizen-science research that needs their help," says Professor Cavalier, who is Professor of Practice at Arizona State �Ӱ�ֱ��.

"We are very excited to deploy this customised instance of SciStarter to help accelerate important research and build knowledge about the projects and participants powering this movement in �Ӱ�ֱ��."

Originally published in the �Ӱ�ֱ�� Newsroom.