Citizen Science Association
C*Sci 2023 Call for Symposia
-The call for symposia submissions is now closed-
Symposia Overview:
The CSA Program Committee invites submissions for curated conversations that advance a proposed topic of importance in the field.
In line with this emphasis of this year’s event, the Committee will prioritize submissions that:
- Illuminate one of the conference strands, and speak to cross-cutting priorities
- Include contributors and ideas from multiple backgrounds and perspectives
- Provide well-grounded insights in an engaging session format
CROSS-CUTTING PRACTICES:
Our event is centered around practices. All proposals should address one of the following cross-cutting STRANDS and speaks to two or more PRIORITY PRACTICES.
STRANDS: (submit to ONE of these)
- Discoveries and Frontiers
- Honoring Traditions
- Opening Science
- Connecting People and Place
- Research to Action / Environmental Justice
PRIORITY PRACTICES: (choose TWO or more)
- Strategies for Successful Science
- Designing for Action and Impact
- Practices for Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
- Building Relationships and Community Trust
- Integrity in Data Ethics
Symposia spaces in the schedule are limited and are therefore highly competitive. The deadline for proposal submissions is November 18th, at 11:59 PM EST.
Planning your submission
Symposia spaces in the schedule are limited and are therefore highly competitive. Should multiple proposals be submitted on similar topics, you may be asked to consider a combined session. Therefore, we encourage those interested in submitting to explore collaborations with others interested in the topic.
Evaluation process and criteria
All proposals will be reviewed and ranked by the CSA Conference program committee for how the proposal addresses a STRAND and speaks to two or more PRIORITY PRACTICES.
Symposium proposals will also be assessed using the following criteria:
- *Illuminate one of the conference strands, and speak to cross-cutting priorities
- *Include contributors and ideas from multiple backgrounds and perspectives
- *Provide well-grounded insights in an engaging session format
- Appeal to a broad audience from different disciplines, roles, and experience levels
- Focus on practices that advance a big topic, idea, or challenge within c*science
- Present something that is a distinct and novel contribution to the field
- Provide clear grounds for the insights shared (e.g., based on decades of experience, user testing, evaluation data, etc.)
- Offer a clear outcome for the session (what people will take away, how your session will make a difference)
- Propose a topic and structure well suited for a symposium
- Address issues related to Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
- Include contributors and ideas from multiple backgrounds and perspectives
- Think about this as an opportunity for a conversation across people and perspectives who may otherwise never be heard together – and why/how that can be powerful. This could look like:
- Community leaders, students, and academics
- Non-profit organizations, agencies, and philanthropists
- Subject matter experts from different fields and who wouldn’t normally cross paths.
- Think about this as an opportunity for a conversation across people and perspectives who may otherwise never be heard together – and why/how that can be powerful. This could look like:
- Provide well-grounded insights in an engaging session format.
- Well-grounded insights mean providing a clear basis for trust in the information or recommendations you share. This could be from (but isn’t limited to):
- decades of lived experience
- data from evaluation or research (quantitative, qualitative, or interpretive)
- syntheses that show a convergence of ideas
- An engaging session format could be, but need not be limited to:
- Well-grounded insights mean providing a clear basis for trust in the information or recommendations you share. This could be from (but isn’t limited to):
We also encourage, but don’t require, proposals that indicate plans for post-conference dissemination. Ideas may include, but not be limited to, a white paper, live polls with published dataset of results, a Youtube video summary), and action-oriented outcomes.
How to Submit?
The call for submissions is now closed.
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Download a copy of this planning guide for a list of questions to submit using the online submission form. When you are ready to submit, click here to submit your proposal.
Individual presenters in your symposium are not required to submit a presentation title or abstract, but you will be required to add the names, affiliations, and contact details for all contributors who have confirmed their willingness to take part in your session. Involvement in the session (should it be chosen) requires in-person participation – symposia will not support remote or pre-recorded contributions.
Abstracts must be in English; submitters will have the option to include session information in additional languages.
The deadline for proposal submissions is November 19th, at 11:59 PM EST. All submissions must be made through the online form. Abstracts submitted after the deadline cannot be considered (there will be no extensions provided for this call). Applicants will be notified of acceptance status by early December. Presenters from symposium submissions that are not accepted may reapply for individual talks/posters.
📊 Data Ethics – Refers to trustworthy data practices for citizen science.
Get involved » Join the Data Ethics Topic Room on CSA Connect!
📰 Publication Ethics – Refers to the best practice in the ethics of scholarly publishing.
Get involved » Join the Publication Ethics Topic Room on CSA Connect!
⚖️ Social Justice Ethics – Refers to fair and just relations between the individual and society as measured by the distribution of wealth, opportunities for personal activity, and social privileges. Social justice also encompasses inclusiveness and diversity.
Get involved » Join the Social Justice Topic Room on CSA Connect!
👤 Human Subject Ethics – Refers to rules of conduct in any research involving humans including biomedical research, social studies. Note that this goes beyond human subject ethics regulations as much of what goes on isn’t covered.
Get involved » Join the Human Subject Ethics Topic Room on CSA Connect!
🍃 Biodiversity & Environmental Ethics – Refers to the improvement of the dynamics between humans and the myriad of species that combine to create the biosphere, which will ultimately benefit both humans and non-humans alike [UNESCO 2011 white paper on Ethics and Biodiversity]. This is a kind of ethics that is advancing rapidly in light of the current global crisis as many stakeholders know how critical biodiversity is to the human species (e.g., public health, women’s rights, social and environmental justice).
⚠ UNESCO also affirms that respect for biological diversity implies respect for societal and cultural diversity, as both elements are intimately interconnected and fundamental to global well-being and peace. (Source).
Get involved » Join the Biodiversity & Environmental Ethics Topic Room on CSA Connect!
🤝 Community Partnership Ethics – Refers to rules of engagement and respect of community members directly or directly involved or affected by any research study/project.
Get involved » Join the Community Partnership Ethics Topic Room on CSA Connect!