Programme goals

‘Sparkling Science 2.0’, a research funding programme of the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research (BMBWF) coordinated by the OeAD, supports citizen science projects in which pupils at all school levels and civil society are actively and independently involved in research. Through their commitment, knowledge and skills, the citizens involved make an important contribution to answering scientific questions that would not be possible without their co-operation. The participation of schoolchildren and citizen scientists of all age groups in research strengthens the dialogue between science and society and helps to sustainably increase trust in science and democracy.

In the spirit of the Citizen Science research approach, a central component of the programme is the active participation of society. A special focus is placed on the participation of schoolchildren. The ‘Science in Schools’ thematic focus additionally supports projects that involve schools in peripheral regions or that work together with schools in Austria that have previously had little or no involvement in citizen science activities. The aim is to give pupils from peripheral regions, with a migration background or from educationally disadvantaged families in particular an insight into the world of science. Alternatively, the priority can also be applied for projects that cooperate with teacher training colleges in order to promote the autonomous development of school priorities in the field of science.

The research funding programme also promotes the development of expertise on the topic of citizen science in science and the scientific community, for example by supporting researchers with experience in citizen science to work together with researchers without such experience. Innovative results from the projects should awake international interest, promote the career development of the researchers involved and strengthen the national and international networking of research institutions. Projects that are dedicated to developing such competences and cooperate with international partners receive additional funding.

Another aim of the programme is to promote transparent and participatory working approaches in research and innovation processes. In the spirit of Open Science, the programme therefore strives for transparent research approaches that make the process of acquiring knowledge as open as possible, from the initial research to the final publication. The databases and research results generated as part of the funded “Sparkling Science” projects should therefore also be made publicly accessible to all interested parties.