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Making Science by engaging people and their knowledge(s): the crossing-knowledges approach in Citizen Science

This post is part of a larger series of blogs that representatives of the LERU focus group on Public Engagement are writing to inspire and inform academics, societal partners and citizens who have a keen interest in Public Engagement. This month’s author is Victoria Brotto, Citizen Science project manager at Citizen Lab – Open University of Strasbourg (OPUS).

As project manager as well as intermédiatrice1, the issues related to Public Engagement are at the core of my work in the Citizen Lab, which is run by the Open University of Strasbourg Centre (OPUS).

OPUS supports a broad variety of Citizen Sciences projects at the University of Strasbourg (Unistra) as well as other participatory projects run by research’s stakeholders and societies2.

In this regard, I would like to share a few thoughts on the crossing-knowledges approach, which is central to our work at the Lab.

Firstly, I would like to present the Citizen Lab and its philosophy. Secondly, I will explain the crossing-knowledges’ approach and methodology and, at last, present some participatory tools that could be useful for you.

The Citizen Lab

The Citizen Lab is an incubator for participatory research initiated by researchers and/or citizens. The Citizen Lab supports the creation of spaces for the circulation of different forms of knowledge (experimental knowledge, academic knowledge, etc) 3 . In doing so, it enables societal issues to emerge in the university ecosystem as well as encourages the production of knowledges addressing both scientific and societal questions.

The vision structuring the Lab is that different types of knowledge exist and are present in people’s lives, actions and understandings of the world. In other words, scientific knowledge is not the only one that structures actions and understandings of human beings and human societies: there are also other knowledges, such as the knowledge gained from experience, intimate knowledge, local knowledge, etc. These knowledges can be put into dialogue with the scientific knowledge, in a Citizen Science project.

Based on this, the Citizen Lab helps scientists and citizens to work together due to produce a new knowledge. And we do that by crossing knowledges and encouraging public engagement.

Image Credit: Open University of Strasbourg

Crossing knowledges’ approach and methodology

The crossing knowledges approach can be understood as the way knowledges are put into dialogue. Thus, it implies concrete methods, attitudes and a plurality of tools.

Let’s begin with the concrete methods!

Methods

As the Citizen Lab is anchored in the University of Strasbourg, the dialogue with Unistra’s community is at the core of the work, along, of course, with the support of society’s actors. Thus, we go to laboratories, associations, small and engaged groups of citizens or, still, to administrative bureau with a simple question: «Is there any question you would like to be answered by science ?»4 Researchers, university’s staff as well as citizen are invited to answer it.

And there is when all the magic begins! (Or the work, depends on the eye of the beholder).

According to the answers given, we help citizens and scientists to define the research question and the participatory methodology5. This later will be defined in a closer-dialogue with the research methodology.

In terms of the questions, they can range from: «What is medical-sexist violence ?», «How can peer-groups help vulnerable people to give their consent, in an informed manner ?», «What are the properties of urban soil ?», «How can video-game players promote their gaming skills to potential employers ?», etc. All these questions are being addressed by some of the projects supported by our Lab. You can check it out their progress here.

Sometimes, the question emerges from a group in an epistemic injustice situation, what means that their knowledge and their voice are not socially valued or credible. In this case, the work of coordinating public engagement will be to first define the research question with this group. Secondly, to «order» a research project to a research team, based on this question. It is the methodology known as «Nouveaux Commanditaires – Science»6.

In doing so, the aim is to foster the empowerment of citizens living in an epistemic injustice situation, by recognizing their knowledge and introducing this later into the research community, which is a prestigious producer of knowledge.

In addition, the Citizen Lab help citizens and researchers to identify possible partners as well as possible sources of funding. We also propose workshops, as well as meetings and teaching. As community managers – or so-called intermediators, we give special attention to the participatory methodology, as we want to make sure that no appropriation of knowledge will happen. We also make sure that knowledges and people’s time will be used in their favor, as in the favor of the research project.

So, to well define the participatory methodology, four main things have to be clear: each one’s role, the conditions of the engagement of each participant, the different types of knowledge that will be mobilized and the promotion of the results to scientific community and to society.

Attitudes and group decision making

Once we understand that all knowledges have the right to be recognized as such and can be put into dialogue with other knowledges, the participants (mediators, citizens and researchers) adopt an attitude of recognizing knowledge as such and putting them into dialogue with each other. Tangibly speaking, the point of view of each one is heard during meetings. Also, time is equally given for each participant to be able to speak during meetings, if willing so. In interview-based researches, we encourage citizens, who are concerned by the research topic, to co-write the questions of the interview with the researchers.

Decision power is discussed and agreed collectively (who decides what and when). Academic and other type of registration of knowledge is shared in the group (academic articles, poems7, videos, photos, drawing, dance).

At last, these different attitudes make not only recognition of knowledges possible, but also make trust possible, or at least, they try to build the conditions for people to trust in each other. Clara Chavanon, who is also project manager at the Citizen Lab explains that Citizen Science engage people not only because of the work to be done, but engage people because of the quality of the relation between them.

Participatory Tools

Finally, tools are given to people to help them co-construct their project. Sessions of teaching, topic-framed workshops and informal meetings in local cafés (due to discuss about on-going projects, future collaborations, challenges of coordinating public engagement).

We also use academic, artistic and design tools, such as open science tools, puzzles, photolanguage game, cuerpo territorio drawing, world café’s game and a small physical library. This small OPUS library offers books, games and guides about Citizen Science and Participation in general inspired by social sciences sphere, design thinking and even poetry! It is also available for our in loco partners.

In conclusion, as we can see, the crossing-knowledge approach is based on the philosophy that recognizes knowledge as such and put them into dialogue in Citizen Science’s projects, and that for the benefit of the research and of the society’s. From this point of view, a participatory methodology is put into practice under the attentive eyes of a mediator, or intermédiateur, and with the help of academic, artistic and pedagogical tools.

Outcomes

Citizen Lab supports 19 on-going Citizen Science projects. Around 40 projects have been supported by our team, since the creation of the Lab, in 2022. Currently, 19 Unistra-research laboratories are involved in these projects and 80 society-actors. Approximately more than 20 questions were addressed.

Some things were learnt along the way. First of all, the importance of having social meetings between participants. The aims are to strengthen relationships, citizen’s appropriation of the project as well as increase trust. We have done it not only for Participatory Research, but also for Crowdsourcing-projects, where citizen have a specific role of collecting data.

Secondly, it is very important to listen and to note every participant’s opinion about the question. An Excel table showing different points of view and the evolution of the question can be very insightful! This document can also be useful to 1/show participants that their point of views were listened and 2/ to identify the point of views that were taken into consideration and why.

Thirdly, one-to-one talks are also important, to give participants a more “private” space to talk with mediators about their motivations or eventual problems faced. And why not do it during a nice walk? We have done it with some participants during summer time.

In conclusion, to cross different types of knowledge, different spaces and tools are needed, ones from academia and other from outside. In doing this, we help to create Citizen Science projects where scientists and citizens can work, each one with their knowledges, skills and interests.

If you have any question, do not hesitate in contacting us at opus@unistra.fr.

AUTHOR BIO: Victoria Brotto is project manager & research engineer at Labo citoyen (OPUS – University of Strasbourg) on Citizen science projects. Her academic background is political sciences and sociology, with a specialisation on public action and migrations issues. Victoria worked as international journalist for 6 years before joining the academic field.

1 In French, the term « intermédiateur » or « tiers veilleur » is used to describe the person who watches for the best practices of public engagement in Citizen science projects.

2 For more information about the Citizen Lab and OPUS’s activities: https://opus.projets.app/projects/decouvrir-le-pole-open-university-of-strasbour/summary

3 For a deeper understanding of the different knowledges in Citizen Science, in science and in society in general: Irwin A, 1995, Citizen Science: A Study of People, Expertise and Sustainable Development. London and New York: Routledge; Haraway D, 1998, Situated Knowledges: The Science Question in Feminism and The Privilege of Partial Perspective. Feminist Studies 14 (3): 575-599; Marion Carrel, Christine Loignon, Sophie Boyer, Marianne de Laat. Les enjeux méthodologiques et épistémologiques du croisement des savoirs entre personnes en situation de pauvreté, praticien.ne.s et universitaires. Sociologie et Sociétés, 2018, 49 (1), pp.119-142. Available in open access on https://hal.univ-lille.fr/hal-04557415v1/document

4 Sometimes, the question already exists and the participatory methodology is so taught accordingly.

5 For more precision on how to define people’s participation, see: Haklay, Citizen science projects in the context of participatory approaches: The case of Izmir – Scientific Figure on ResearchGate. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Levels-of-participation-in-citizen-science-Haklay-2018_fig3_370422705; Arnstein S., 1969. A ladder of citizen participation, Journal of the American Institute of Planners, 35, 4, 216-224; Francois Houllier, Jean-Baptiste Merilhou-Goudard. Les sciences participatives en France. [0] 2016, 63 p.

6 Bergouignan, L., Riboli-Sasco, L. et Tapin, E. (2025). Les «Nouveaux Commanditaires – Sciences»: apports potentiels de la recherche située. Mouvements, 119(1), 96-106. https://doi.org/10.3917/mouv.119.0096; https://joursavenir.org/qui-sommes-nous/.

7 For different types of writting in Citizen Science research, see: Faury, M, Ce que trament les sciences et recherches participatives: vers une écriture des attachements, Recherche et culture (148), 2025, p.17-22. Available in open access on https://www.culture.gouv.fr/fr/thematiques/enseignement-superieur-et-recherche/la-revue-culture-et-recherche/recherche-culture-et-politiques-publiques  


OpenEdition suggests that you cite this post as follows:
victoriabrotto1 (January 28, 2026). Making Science by engaging people and their knowledge(s): the crossing-knowledges approach in Citizen Science. LERU Public Engagement Scholarly Blog. Retrieved May 15, 2026 from https://lerupesb.hypotheses.org/633


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