The Social Function of Citizen Science: Developing Researchers, Developing Citizens

This chapter focuses on the risk that, when citizen science is introduced in social environments different from those in the Global North where it originated, it may be subject to the error of providing the right answer to the wrong question. To avoid this type of error, it is necessary to train those who participate in citizen-science studies: citizens as well as researchers. Otherwise, we may encounter new forms of scientific dependence that benefit knowledge accumulation and policy decision-making in the Global North, without contributing to the quality of life of those who carry out the studies. This chapter analyzes the relationship between civic development, citizen science and ways of implementing research conclusions through public policies, given the characteristics of political and citizen participation in the Global South. Here, the introduction of citizen science is seen as an opportunity to construct a more inclusive and participatory society and reduce the risk of returning to paternalistic, passivity-inducing, and purely instrumental approaches to development.