How does it work?

Panel members are voluntary citizen scientists

The citizen research panel is formed by a group of voluntary citizens who want to participate in scientific research across various disciplines. Panel members will be recruited locally (Southwest Finland and Satakunta) in 2025. The panel aims to include individuals of different ages and backgrounds. It does not strive to be a demographically representative population sample nor is it based on the number of panelists, but rather on their interest and commitment.

Researchers submit task invitations to the panel

For researchers and research groups, the citizen research panel serves as a channel to reach citizens interested in participating. Researchers invite citizens to collaborate through panel task invitations. These task invitations are based on the researchers’ research projects, particularly for tasks where researchers seek citizen input.

The panel is university-wide: it includes all disciplines at the University of Turku. Therefore, researchers from all fields can submit task invitations to the panel.

The tasks of the citizen research panel vary at different stages of research

The panel can participate, for example, in defining research topics and questions, commenting on research plans and objectives, and planning communication directed at research subjects.

The activities of the citizen research panel are based on meetings where panel tasks are discussed. Meetings may take place online, in person, or as a combination of both. Generally, a researcher leads the work during the meetings. However, panel tasks can vary: independent panel tasks are also possible.

Researchers responsibly utilize the outcomes of the panel in their research

Citizen scientists act as collaborators for researchers within the panel. Researchers communicate their expectations to the panel and the opportunities for citizen participants to influence. They decide how the outcomes of the panel’s work will be utilized in research and also inform the panelists about this.

The impact and benefits of the activities will be evaluated throughout the entire pilot period of 2025-26 from the perspectives of both researchers and citizens.