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Basic Steps for Your Project Planning

This toolkit shows five basic process steps for planning, designing and carrying out a crowdsourcing or citizen science project (adapted from Bonney et al. (2009). Citizen Science: A Developing Tool for Expanding Science Knowledge and Scientific Literacy. BioScience 59(11), 977-984). At each step, you’ll find a list of tips you can use to keep your project on track.

The steps are in sequence, but each is also independent. Each gives you resources to help answer your specific questions.

Begin with the first process step — Scope Your Problem. Need inspiration? Check out Case Studies to read success stories.

Scope Your Problem

Design a Project

Build a Community

Manage Your Data

Sustain and Improve