In a recent open access article titled “New development: Citizen science—discovering (new) solutions to wicked problems” published in Public Money & Management, Prof Ian R. Hodgkinson and Dr. Sahar Mousavi explore the role citizen science can play in discovering new solutions to pressing wicked problems.

Climate change, extreme poverty, pandemics, health inequalities, and natural disasters demand action, but the forms such action should take are often highly contested due to the complexity of the problems at hand, the scale of required co-action, and the typically substantial costs involved. Yet, drawing on the enthusiasm, skills, passion, and knowledge of citizen volunteers across the world, citizen science research projects can provide a new channel to solution discovery.

The article includes recent illustrations of citizen science projects to show how citizens can contribute to driving (partial) solutions towards a better world. The article calls for wider recognition and use of citizen science in future public administration and management research.

The article is available to be downloaded for free from here.

Full article detail:

Hodgkinson, I.R., Mousavi, S. and Hughes, P. (2021), New development: Citizen science—discovering (new) solutions to wicked problems, Public Money & Management, DOI: 10.1080/09540962.2021.1967630