»EPA

United States
Environmental
Protection Agency

Using Participatory
Science at EPA:
Vision and Principles

Office of Research and Development

Office of Science Advisor, Policy &
Engagement


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Using Participatory Science at EPA:

Vision and Principles

Preface

Public participation has long had a catalytic role in environmental protection. The principle that the
public has a right to be informed of and engaged in decisions that affect them is integrated into our
Nation's environmental laws and regulations. New tools and technologies such as smartphone apps,
drones, digital photographs, and low-cost pollution sensors are becoming widely available, making
public contributions to science more practical and commonplace. Greater involvement of the public in
expanding scientific understanding and knowledge of environmental problems offers substantial
opportunities, as well as challenges.

This document describes EPA's vision for the strategic use of participatory science approaches in EPA's
work. Although public engagement in science is not a new concept, the term "participatory science" is
relatively new. Others have used terms such as citizen science, community science, crowd-sourced
science, community-based participatory monitoring, volunteer monitoring, public participation in the
scientific process, public science, open science, civic science, and do-it-yourself science. There is
current debate in the field about terminology, but scientists and practitioners agree on the larger goal
of making these science approaches as broad and inclusive as possible. To that end, EPA is transitioning
to the term "participatory science" to represent the most inclusive and accessible involvement of the
public in the scientific process, especially for those who have been historically underrepresented in the
field. EPA recognizes that changing terminology is a first step and commits to ensuring that everyone
can influence the culture, values, and future of participatory science.


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In this document, participatory science encompasses the use of scientific data generated by the public
as covered by the Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science Act of 2016 and includes a broad and inclusive
range of activities, from those originating in academic and government institutions that enlist the
public in data collection to create knowledge, to community-led projects intended to develop data and
information that address environmental justice issues and community concerns. EPA will work to
advance community-based participatory science for all residents, focusing on local priorities and local
perspectives, where communities are engaged in identifying concerns, project design and
management, and follow-up actions.

This document will help guide EPA on the use of participatory science in its programs to increase public
engagement and understanding and to take actions to investigate and mitigate environmental
problems. This document also includes principles and actions needed to achieve this vision.
Implementation details will be addressed in a companion document that will define roles and
responsibilities for implementation steps and will identify resources to maintain and build upon
current Agency expertise and programs.

The scope of EPA's vision for participatory science encompasses use in EPA programs; collaboration
with state, tribal, and local governments, as well as other federal agencies; and support for
participatory science work in academic and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and directly with
communities.


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Introduction

Participatory science is the involvement of the public in the scientific process, often in collaboration
with professional scientists and scientific institutions. In participatory science, the manner and level of
public involvement exists on a spectrum based on the roles of scientists and project participants.
Program leadership can range from scientist-driven to community-driven, which can result in
differences in the role of government agencies, uses of data, and types of environmental issues
addressed. Projects can have different starting points and intended
outcomes. For example, projects that emphasize a science question
may be designed specifically to expand scientific knowledge, whereas
projects that are designed to address a local community concern may
aim to influence environmental decisions to improve environmental
quality. Increasingly, scientists and communities are learning to work
together on co-created projects with shared management
responsibilities that deliver benefits for both scientists and the
community.

[Participatory] science
engages the public in
efforts to advance
scientific knowledge by
formulating research
questions, collecting
data, and interpreting
results. It also includes
place-based and
community controlled
scientific efforts that
advance social learning,
empowerment, and
collective action.

Built on a long history of public contributions to science, participatory
science is a transformational approach emerging as a core tenet of
environmental and human health protection. Through this approach,
the public helps to improve understanding and scientific knowledge of
environmental problems and protective actions. The scope of
participatory science is broad and can span many scientific fields.

Projects use the collective strength of the public to identify research
questions, collect and analyze data, interpret results, make new discoveries, and develop technologies
and applications to understand and solve problems.

The goal of this document is to provide a unified vision to guide EPA's participatory science efforts and
investments. Given that technologies to enable these approaches are evolving, EPA considers this to
be a living document and will update it as needed.

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EPA Vision for Participatory Science


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Vision Statement: EPA
envisions a future where all
parts of society are
increasingly engaged and
empowered to help advance
scientific knowledge that
informs environmental
protection actions on local,
regional, and national scales.
In this vision, participatory
science projects will provide
accessible, actionable
information that improves
environmental awareness and
decision making.

EPA Vision for Participatory Science


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EPA Vision for Using Participatory Science

Public engagement in science can improve environmental problem solving and result in better
protection of human health and the environment. Together, EPA and the public will protect human
health and the environment by using participatory science to inform environmental decision-making
on an individual, neighborhood, state, national, and global scale. EPA will strive to achieve a balanced
approach in support of the full spectrum of participatory science projects. EPA plans to provide
additional scientific support for community projects, increase the diversity of project participants, and
address equity in project design. Through these actions, EPA will encourage co-created projects where
scientists and communities work together.

EPA aims to increase the appropriate and timely use of participatory science information in
environmental decision-making at EPA. To achieve this goal, EPA intends to advance approaches that
increase the objectivity, integrity, and utility of participatory science, such as data collection standards
and data management practices.

EPA recognizes that potential concerns can arise with public contributions to scientific knowledge and
understanding, particularly with respect to data quality and the use of participatory science data in
environmental policy decisions and regulatory programs. Although the reliability of measurements is
often the main concern, there may also be legal and ethical concerns regarding the generation and
objectivity of the data These concerns can be managed with careful attention to scientific study

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EPA Vision for Participatory Science


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design, data quality methods, involvement of human subjects, participant training, access to technical
assistance and tools, and the trend of standardization of data collection methods, EPA's scientific
integrity policy is one of several Agency policies that guides EPA's use of participatory science.

Over the last fifty years, the use of participatory science as a mechanism for collecting evidence of
environmental justice issues has increased significantly. Projects that are initiated and managed at
the community level are frequently used to define, research, and address environmental justice
issues. Local community groups or NGOs often lead projects that collect monitoring data that they
can use to document and draw attention to pollution in overburdened communities. Community-
managed projects fill an important need in underserved and marginalized communities that lack trust
in how government agencies respond to community concerns and needs. A crucial element of EPA's
future vision is to strengthen the valuable role of community-driven projects that lead to effective
responses to local environmental issues.


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Background: Growth in Participatory Science

Public participation in environmental science, often through volunteer monitoring and observations,
predates the creation of EPA in 1970 and has continued to evolve over time. EPA's early efforts to
support volunteer water quality monitoring by providing tools, training, and technical assistance have
expanded and diversified so that participatory science projects now span all EPA programs and the
work of EPA regional offices.

Today, EPA uses participatory science to advance community engagement,
research, monitoring, and environmental education goals. EPA and partner
organizations have used participatory science to help with emergency
response actions, evaluate new air-quality-sensor technologies, fill
information gaps in non-regulatory programs, assess water quality, provide
screening-level data for communities, and contribute to environmental
education. Many other partner organizations - including other federal
agencies, states, tribes, local governments, academic institutions, NGOs,
community groups, and others - now engage in and use participatory science
for environmental protection.

Examples of recent EPA
participatory science
(citizen science) topics

Harmful algal blooms
Drinking water
Beach contamination
Coastal acidification
Invasive species
Wildfire smoke
Air pollution

These approaches are expanding at EPA and other organizations, and public engagement in science is being
used to solve a growing set of environmental issues. EPA and partner organizations now use participatory
science to assess drinking water contamination, detect radon, support chemical safety, assist emergency
responses, evaluate impacts of disasters, identify harmful algal blooms, monitor the distribution of
contaminated soils, measure indoor air pollution, assess beach safety, track the distribution of invasive
species, ground-truth wildfires, and more.

EPA plans to work with states, tribes, and other organizations to improve data management practices for all
steps in the data life cycle - including data collection, sharing, access, storage, and information use and
governance. EPA has provided resources to help communities define and document their data quality, a
necessary step in increasing how and when participatory science can be used in decision-making. These
resources include the EPA Handbook for Citizen Science Quality Assurance and Documentation, user-friendly
quality assurance (QA) templates, and illustrative real-world examples. These resources can be applied to the
collection and use of environmental data for three broad categories of participatory science projects:
increasing public understanding; scientific studies and research; and legal and policy action. There are
stringent quality assurance requirements for using data for enforcement actions; however, participatory
science data may be useful in identifying areas for compliance evaluations.

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Value of Participatory Science in Environmental Protection

Environmental problem solving in the 21st Century is strengthened when all parts of American society
are engaged in the job of ensuring clean air, land, water, and chemical safety. EPA recognizes the value
of participatory science as a catalyst for dialogue
between EPA and the public about environmental
issues. It connects government programs to the people
and communities that EPA serves. Across the United
States and around the world, people are collecting and
using scientific data generated by the public to inform
a wide range of environmental actions and decisions.

These projects are driven by a growing interest in how
people without formal scientific training can contribute
to science and address community concerns.

Participatory science has untapped potential to improve environmental and public health protection
and to contribute to equity, environmental justice, and more effective solutions for local, regional,
and national challenges. Applications of participatory science offer new avenues of collaboration and
information gathering among government agencies, scientific organizations, local communities, and
the public. By incorporating enhanced accountability, transparency, and public participation,
participatory science can produce valuable benefits to the American public and society.

Participatory science can:

Fill information gaps and provide other means of identifying potential environmental problems.

Improve public understanding of environmental issues and actions that address them.

Create a stronger, more inclusive, and collaborative network of individuals and organizations
dedicated to environmental problem solving.

Yield cost-savings and efficiencies in environmental monitoring and protection programs.

In summary, participatory science projects typically yield multiple benefits, including actionable
information and engaged communities. Public involvement in science improves understanding and
participation in environmental problem solving.

Participatory science is much more than
collecting data. It provides a way to engage
all parts of society in gaining a deeper
understanding of human environments, build
an informed population that can advocate
successfully for environmental protection,
and more effectively protect human health
and the environment" EPA's National Advisory

Council for Environmental Policy and Technology Report


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Tribes and Traditional Ecological Knowledge

Many tribes engage community members in environmental science activities and are motivated to find
new ways to apply tribal-based participatory science. EPA commits to work with Tribal Nations and
indigenous people to appropriately support their use of participatory science. EPA recognizes that
tribal governments or individual traditional knowledge holders may wish to include Traditional
Ecological Knowledge (TEK) in their projects. TEK is a body of observations, oral and written knowledge,
practices, and beliefs that promote environmental sustainability and the responsible stewardship of
natural resources through relationships between humans and environmental systems. It is applied to
phenomena across biological, physical, cultural, and spiritual systems. ITEK has evolved over millennia,
continues to evolve, and includes insights based on evidence acquired through direct contact with the
environment and long-term experiences, as well as extensive observations, lessons, and skills passed
from generation to generation.

EPA intends to work with sovereign Tribal Nations to build capacity for addressing environmental and
health issues throughout Indian Country. Tribal Nations have unique needs concerning data privacy,
cultural information, and other issues that arise in participatory science activities, which may not be
present in non-tribal projects. The scope of some tribal projects may include environmental, cultural,
and spiritual perspectives and relationships. Additionally, individual indigenous TEK holders may
choose to offer TEK, whether they are tribal members or not, and TEK may not come from a federally
recognized tribe.


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EPA Principles for Participatory Science

The design and management of future EPA participatory science projects can draw on the lessons
learned and experiences from past efforts. Although each project may be unique and tailored to
specific topics and circumstances, there are overarching principles that will create a more strategic
Agency wide approach. With respect to community based projects, EPA and other science
organizations need to expand their role of technical support and local capacity building, rather than
one of project leadership and control.

Incorporating participatory science in environmental protection programs can be challenging. EPA is
moving toward a new era where this approach is an integral part of environmental protection. Three
core principles for conducting and supporting participatory science good science, community
involvement, and informed decisions will guide EPA's efforts and have broader utility for
environmental protection efforts undertaken by other organizations. Given the networked nature of
participatory science, which typically involves multiple organizations (government, NGOs, academia,
etc.), alignment of shared goals should lead to more effective outcomes.

Good Science

Participatory science projects expand scientific knowledge and understanding. Public participation in
all stages of the scientific process can be valuable, from identifying research questions, to collecting
and analyzing data, to using information for improving public health and the environment.

•	Increase Scientific Understanding: Every project should identify and define clear scientific
questions and strive to answer those questions by making new discoveries, developing
technologies and applications, collecting, and analyzing data and interpreting results

•	Plan and Document Data Quality: The level of data quality assurance and documentation will
correspond to intended data uses. Participatory science data used in regulatory programs
should meet high standards of data quality, whereas other projects may produce valuable
screening level data.

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•	Use Innovation, Experimentation, and Evaluation: Participatory science is a rapidly evolving
field. Testing and demonstration of new ideas and approaches should lead to improved
practices for future projects.

Community Involvement

Involving the public in environmental science can yield mutual benefits for communities, scientists, and
environmental protection programs. Filling gaps in scientific knowledge supports local assessments and
solutions to environmental concerns.

•	Support Equity in Community Projects: Inclusive and equitable partnerships create meaningful
collaboration around shared goals in participatory science projects. Projects should deliver
tangible benefits to the community through meaningful involvement and a strong community
voice in project design and management.

•	Build Capacity for Place Based Problem Solving: Increasing local capacity for impactful
participatory science requires support from EPA and other organizations, including funding
opportunities, technical assistance, and training. Local environmental problem solving, from
identifying problems to developing viable solutions, can benefit from public participation in
science activities.

•	Create Collaborative Partnership Networks: EPA recognizes the vital role of other
organizations in environmental participatory science and will help build capacity and leverage
expertise and resources in NGOs, educational institutions, and the private sector. Co created
projects with shared roles and responsibilities often lead to the best results.

Informed Decisions

Public involvement in science can influence decisions about environmental protection in multiple ways,
from addressing local community concerns to informing actions by state, tribal, and EPA programs.
Some projects provide useful information at the neighborhood scale whereas others contribute to
broader environmental problem solving.

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•	Strengthen Shared Governance with States and Tribes: States, tribal nations, and local
governments are often at the front lines of environmental protection. EPA plans to work in
partnership with states, tribes, and local government on approaches that effectively use
participatory science in environmental protection, including sharing program information needs
that can be filled through additional monitoring.

•	Maximize Transparency and Accessibility: Project managers should strive to make project data
publicly available, while protecting privacy. Where feasible, project data and analyses should be
shared along with corresponding metadata (information about how the data were collected) as
widely as possible, so participants and the public can be informed about project results.

•	Encourage a Variety of Project Approaches: Different projects will influence different kinds of
decisions, some at the community level and others at larger geographic scales. Participatory
science approaches are used in protection of the environment and human health in diverse
ways, including both regulatory and nonregulatory programs.

•	Incorporate into EPA's Environmental Programs: EPA policies, incentives, and program
guidance should be expanded in ways that allow useful participatory science contributions to
environmental protection through community engagement, education, monitoring, and
research, and ultimately contributions to policy, regulation, and enforcement.

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Best Practices for Working with Communities

Increased support for community-based participatory science is a priority for EPA. EPA has historically
supported projects addressing scientific questions that are typically organized by science organizations,
but it has provided limited assistance to build capacity for projects addressing community concerns
that are managed at the local level, EPA recognizes the value of community-based participatory science
in improving local environmental protection activities and is committed to building new and better
ways to support these projects,

A well-executed community-based participatory science project yields benefits for both communities
and scientists, including increased understanding of science by communities and clearer understanding
of communities' concerns by scientists. Conducting a successful project begins with a commitment to
developing a cooperative, mutually beneficial relationship with the community. Recognizing that
community members are best suited to identify their needs, EPA scientists will work alongside
communities to manage and implement projects that address community concerns and will strive to
build a strong foundation of trust and understanding between communities and institutions.


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Implementation: Turning Principles into Practice

EPA will convene a cross-agency group to prepare an internal action plan that defines specific
implementation steps needed to realize the Agency-wide vision for participatory science. This plan will
include roles and responsibilities for the different EPA offices, timelines, and resource requirements.
The Office of Research and Development will serve as the EPA lead coordinator for implementing the
vision for participatory science, working with EPA's national programs and regional offices. EPA will
continue broad and inclusive community engagement as we move forward on implementation steps,
including the following components:

1.	Implement an EPA data management strategy for participatory science that improves data
infrastructure, standards, and methods and promotes data accessibility and transparency.

2.	Increase staff skills and institutional capacity within EPA to design and manage EPA-funded
participatory science programs to include training, policy guidance, technical tools, and other
capacity building and communication activities.

3.	Expand EPA cooperation with states and tribes using an interactive process that characterizes
state and tribal participatory science activities and defines how EPA can better support these
programs. Continue building the E-Enterprise partnership for states, tribes, and EPA to share
best practices and result

4.	Strengthen collaborative partnerships and multi-stakeholder networks through dialogue with
participatory science organizations about needs and opportunities, and sharing of technical
tools, data expertise, and training resources. Work with academic institutions, NGOs, and other
interested groups that can provide technical support.

5.	Enhance private sector understanding of and participation in participatory science through
outreach, dialogue, and expanded engagement.

6.	Support participatory science through seed funding to community organizations and updating
program guidance to explicitly include community-based participatory science in EPA programs.

7.	Incorporate participatory science results into EPA program strategies, as appropriate, for
addressing issues defined by local, state, national, and tribal environmental priorities (e.g.,
screening level data, identification of hotspots, addressing non-regulatory responsibilities, etc.).

8.	Develop metrics to measure and evaluate EPA participatory science projects, and practical
approaches for collecting information needed for evaluation.

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Moving Forward

EPA's vision for the future - where participatory science data are abundant, increasingly accessible,
and useful for environmental awareness and decision-making - is ambitious. Combining rigorous
science and public participation is indeed a promising proposition, and EPA will need to address
challenges, including legal and ethical issues, technical resources, and project management. Advancing
participatory science approaches will require a cultural shift and a new mindset where public
participation is viewed as a foundational asset for how environmental programs operate. EPA's future
work will be energized by new and creative ways of mobilizing participatory science in support of
environmental protection. This vision for participatory science can be realized only if EPA works
collaboratively with other organizations with this shared goal.

EPA Vision for Participatory Science


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References

Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science Act 15 U.S.C. § 3724. Retrieved from

http://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-titlel5-
section3724&num=0&edition=prelim

Cooper, Caren B., Hawn, Chris L., Larsan, Lincoln R., et al (2021). Inclusion in citizen science: The conundrum of
rebranding. Science Magazine, 372(6549), 1386-1388. DOI: 10.1126/science.abi6487

National Advisory Committee on Environmental Policy and Technology (NACEPT). (2016). Environmental

Protection Belongs to the Public: A Vision for Citizen Science at EPA (EPA 219-R-16-001). Retrieved from
https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2018-

04/documents/nacept citizen science publication eng 022318 rf508 508.pdf

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). (2012). Scientific Integrity Policy. Retrieved from

https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2014-02/documents/scientific integrity policy 2012.pdf

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). (2019). Handbook for Citizen Science Quality Assurance and

Documentation. Retrieved from https://www.epa.gov/citizen-science/qualitv-assurance-handbook-and-
guidance-documents-citizen-science-proiects

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