The MLE CS responsible and inclusive scalability toolkit

Abstract

This paper presents the Scalability Toolkit developed in 2021–2023 within the “Mutual Learning Exercise on Citizen Science Initiatives – Policy and Practice” to provide a theoretical and methodological framework to support the scaling of CS projects and initiatives responsibly and inclusively.The Toolkit is made of three components: i) a multidimensional qualitative definition of scalability, ii) an operational scalability matrix composed of four models (scaling up, out, deep and down) and two approaches (top-down and bottom-up), and iii) eight action areas for policy making.Building on this work, further research as well as a cultural mind shift is needed to urther develop value-driven scalability models in CS according to more qualitative and ethical dimensions, the specific logic of CS projects as well as their domain and context dependency.

Keywords

• citizen science
• policy
• practice
• upscaling
• scal