Citizen science article in NN

Nature Neuroscience has a great article on citizen science in the September issue (link, subscription required).

In the article, they discuss that although the public already recognizes the value of publicly funded research, the priority they place on it could be raised if they feel more involved. One way they can get involved is through microfinancing, where relatively small amounts of money can generate a tangible result for the donors on a short time scale.

Such microfinance efforts will not make an immediate dent in systemic problems of insufficient funding, but increased personal investment in scientific research could help improve scientific literacy and enthusiasm for science and, ultimately, win stronger backing for federal support of scientific research.

They also discuss the additional benefits of getting scientists to engage the public directly. I’d like to add one thought to that. Carrying out experiments in an entirely open and public process is a potentially very fruitful alternative to the more typical MO of a high level of discretion and, at times, outright secrecy.

Here are the microfinance sites they discuss:
FundScience
SciFlies
Eureka Fund
Open Source Science