Think before you link (with citizen scientists): Design thinking methodologies for citizen engagement

Design thinking is an approach typically used in product innovation and marketing that puts empathy for the end-user at the centre of the design process. Design thinking is a human-centred process that emphasizes creativity and collaboration, leading to facilitation of citizen engagement through improved recruitment and retention of participants. Here we present two case studies that use design thinking methodologies to better understand the citizen scientists involved.

CityCLIM (a European Union Horizon 2020 funded project) applied a stakeholder analysis technique called the Value Proposition Canvas (VPC) to better understand the motivations of the citizen scientists participating in a data collection campaign for urban climate. The project specifically identified a target group consisting of citizens who ride a bicycle primarily for commuting or as a hobby, with specific requirements in terms of route, duration and frequency. Using the VPC allowed organisers to formulate a targeted recruitment, participation, and communication strategy. This strategy is beneficial for retaining and motivating citizen scientists, but also for ensuring high quality spatial and temporal environmental data for the project.

The ICEBERG project (a European Union Horizon 2020 funded project) applied a product design technique called Empathy Mapping, which provides deeper insights into the citizen’s and community’s needs, rather than thinking from the researcher's point of view. Empathy Mapping was used to identify barriers to implementing a community-based environmental monitoring program, in order to brainstorm solutions and opportunities for participation. These insights (some of which draw from experiences of the consortium members working with the case study communities) were used to reflect on researcher conduct when engaging the community and planning citizen participation activities.