(Spatial) Scales of Justice: Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in Participatory Sciences

Summary: The participatory sciences manage public engagement to create bridges between science and society, taking different forms in different disciplines. The discoveries and advances through these large collective efforts are unique and not possible by people working alone. With innovations in geospatial and data sciences, the spatial scale of public engagement in science can include millions and span continents. Yet, with increasing scale, projects become less spatially and socially representative of human populations: the overwhelming majority of participants are White, highly educated, and wealthy. The Diverse, Inclusive, Equitable, Accessible, Large-scale (IDEAL) participatory science program supports professional development of practitioners to produce changes needed for inclusion of groups historically excluded and underrepresented in participatory science.

About the speaker: Caren Cooper is an interdisciplinary scholar with research programs in avian ecology, human dimensions, and the participatory sciences. Dr. Cooper is an associate professor in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources and part of the Chancellor’s program in Leadership in Public Science.