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UID:pretalx-citizen-science-communication-trust-2026-YDXA7M@ifkw.rz.tu-bs.d
 e
DTSTART;TZID=CET:20261006T090000
DTEND;TZID=CET:20261006T091500
DESCRIPTION:Trust in science is an essential factor to be considered in str
 engthening citizen engagement in participatory research. The latest Euroba
 rometer on citizens’ knowledge and attitudes toward science and technolo
 gy reveals various range of trust in scientists across Europe. About half 
 of Europeans doubt scientists’ independence on controversial issues due 
 to industry funding\, a perception unchanged since 2021 (European Commissi
 on. Directorate General for Research and Innovation. 2025). The specific n
 eeds for trust-building and institutional support align directly with the 
 European Research Area Policy Agenda action on enhancing trust in science 
 through participation\, engagement\, and science communication. \nEspecial
 ly in emerging citizen science environments\, participation is limited and
  determined by the low public trust in science and research. Such an envir
 onment is Romania\, where low participation rates\, especially in environm
 ental monitoring actions are deeply rooted in historical environmental hab
 itus\, blame-shifting and tight political constraints (Ștefănescu et al.
  2025). When citizens perceive their contributions as insufficiently recog
 nised\, or not considered in the decision-making processes\, participatory
  initiatives may instead weaken legitimacy and erode trust in science. In 
 Romania\, lower levels of perceived scientific knowledge correlate with we
 aker trust. Only 5% of citizens feel very well informed about science and 
 technology (vs. 11% EU average)\, while 45% feel poorly informed about new
  scientific discoveries and 56% about environmental issues. At the same ti
 me\, support for scientists taking an active role in policymaking has decl
 ined from 58% to 45% (European Commission. Directorate General for Researc
 h and Innovation. 2025). These trends point to lower confidence in scienti
 fic expertise and highlight the need for stronger science communication an
 d participatory approaches such as citizen science to rebuild trust. \nThi
 s paper examines how trust is built in Romania’s emerging citizen scienc
 e ecosystem\, where participatory initiatives are scattered\, often short-
 lived\, and frequently embedded in European research collaborations. It al
 so draws attention to the limited national-level mapping of these initiati
 ves and to the relative lack of theoretical scholarship on the factors sha
 ping the development of citizen science in the broader Eastern European co
 ntext. The study draws on the insights of a participatory multi-stakeholde
 r workshop with researchers\, communicators\, and civil society practition
 ers organized in Romania in November 2025. The topic of communication betw
 een science and society is particularly of interest because a key gap iden
 tified in the literature is the limited availability of analytical studies
  examining the role of context- and community-appropriate communication in
  citizen science and community-based research (Wagenknecht et al. 2021).\n
 Workshop discussions revealed both individual and institutional barriers t
 o science communication. At the individual level\, participants emphasized
  that trust in citizen science does not emerge simply from participation i
 tself\, but from how participation is communicated and organized. Particip
 ants’ accounts suggested that citizens lived experiences were more influ
 ential in building trust between researchers and the public than the quant
 ity or complexity of the scientific information communicated. At the insti
 tutional level\, especially in emerging citizen science environments such 
 as Romania\, participants stressed the need for stronger incentives and st
 ructural support for science communication within research institutions. I
 n other instances\, participation in citizen science was undermined by the
  lack of trust in institutions and decision-makers\, which discouraged cit
 izens in engaging with problem-solving and co-creation of solutions. Witho
 ut institutional support\, participatory practices remain difficult to sus
 tain. \nThe paper proposes that trust in citizen science functions not onl
 y as an outcome of participation\, but also as a precondition and as an on
 going relational process shaped by communication\, institutional support\,
  and reciprocity. It intends to gather empirical findings\, practice insig
 hts\, and policy reflections on trust in science and citizen participation
  from researchers and practitioners from different European countries\, th
 us framing the Romanian case in a larger context. The paper seeks to surfa
 ce both common challenges and context-specific factors shaping trust acros
 s diverse national settings.
DTSTAMP:20260721T205045Z
LOCATION:Room 1
SUMMARY:Trust in Science and Communication for Citizen Science: A Cross-Nat
 ional Roundtable on Conditions\, Practices\, and Policy Responses - Lucrin
 a Stefanescu
URL:https://ifkw.rz.tu-bs.de/citizen-science-communication-trust-2026/talk/
 YDXA7M/
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