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Poster Short Abstract

Presents contributory research, a critical research strategy that situates extreme citizen science within a marco-economic agenda for the inclusive and sustainable co-production of knowledge.

Poster Abstract

How can citizen science be rendered truly accessible and sustainable? Citizen science has often been praised for bridging the gap between scientific and civic interests. At the same time, some authors argue that it has been mobilised by a neoliberal agenda as a source of cheap research labour. In its most problematic forms, this trend leads to what Riley and Wilkes have called Dark Citizen Science, where citizens unknowingly analyse data for corporate profit—effectively turning participation into exploitation.

To prevent citizen science from “turning dark,” the Institute of Research and Innovation proposes a form of critical and extreme citizen science that explicitly seeks to valorise the contributions of participants, whether symbolically or financially. This approach not only aligns with principles of fairness, but also encourages the involvement of minority groups in a field for which the voluntary base remains predominantly middle-class and white.

This poster presents three pilot projects conducted in France’s poorest department, Seine-Saint-Denis, following this strategy. Each explores new ways of linking citizen science and economic models, including state-funded training, capacity building and self-entrepreneurship, and the use of complementary currencies. Together, these initiatives provide new ideas to a still under-explored topic within the field: how citizen science might embrace an ethos of sustainability—not only in ecological, but also in social terms.