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* U.S. Environmental Protection Agency	18-P-0240
I" mm \ Office of Inspector General	Septembers, 2018
At a Glance
Why We Did This Project
We conducted this audit to
determine whether the
U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) has developed
controls to manage the use of
citizen science results to meet
the agency's mission.
Citizen science is a form of
open collaboration in which
individuals or organizations
participate voluntarily in the
scientific process in various
ways, including collecting and
analyzing data. Citizen science
provides a way for members of
the public to participate and
support EPA programs.
On September 30, 2015, the
White House Office of Science
and Technology Policy
recommended actions to build
citizen science capacity and
directed agencies to take
specific steps to advance
application of citizen science.
Within the EPA, a team in the
Office of Research and
Development facilitates citizen
science projects implemented
throughout the agency's
program and regional offices.
This report addresses the
following:
• Improving EPA research
programs.
Send all inquiries to our public
affairs office at (202) 566-2391
or visit www.epa.gov/oiq.
EPA Needs a Comprehensive Vision and
Strategy for Citizen Science that Aiigns with its
Strategic Objectives on Public Participation
What We Found
Although citizen science is carried out throughout the
EPA, the agency has not developed controls
necessary to manage citizen science agencywide,
including a clear vision and objectives for using
results. Absent this, the EPA cannot undertake a
systematic effort to analyze the risks and
opportunities that citizen science presents.
Without uniform
guidance and direction,
the EPA will be unable
to fully use citizen
science data that could
contribute to the
agency's mission.
EPA staff identified barriers to effectively using citizen science results—including
lack of a comprehensive vision and support/resources from senior management,
and lack of understanding and buy-in for citizen science—that exist because EPA
leadership has not developed a strategy for citizen science. Citizen science is
evolving as advancements in technology provide greater access to the public,
and as public involvement grows it will place pressure on the EPA to understand
and determine how to use the data collected and provided to the agency.
Recommendations and Planned Agency Corrective Actions
We recommend that the EPA Deputy Administrator establish a strategic vision
and objectives for citizen science, and direct completion of an assessment to
identify the data management requirements for using citizen science data and an
action plan. Further, we recommend that the Office of Research and
Development finalize a draft handbook for citizen science and build the capacity
for managing the use of citizen science. The agency concurred with our
recommendations and indicated that it plans to convene an agencywide
workgroup to oversee implementation of our recommendations, and it plans to
complete corrective actions by December 31, 2020.
Noteworthy Achievements
Prior to the start of our audit, the EPA had begun to develop a checklist of
administrative and legal considerations for citizen science projects. The EPA had
also drafted an outreach tool that highlights a representative distribution of citizen
science projects at the EPA. Additionally, the EPA has taken the lead among
federal agencies in addressing a barrier related to the Paperwork Reduction Act
by obtaining approval for an Information Collection Request (generic clearance
for citizen science) for projects contributing to EPA research.
Listing of OIG reports.

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