Citizen Science Improves the Ethics of Foreign Led Research

I often start presentations for youth with a map to point out where I am from. Then, as a clear foreigner, even after three-years of diluting my accent, I ask them: “why did I come to South Africa?” I use my foreign status to emphasize the exceptionalism of the country with particular regard to the biodiversity of the Cape Floristic Region, a global biodiversity hotspot where our project exists. While that connection seems effective, especially for youth who admire western pop culture, the question remains whether I should actually be the one leading these activities and conducting research in South Africa.

Before I could register at the University of Pretoria, the department had to confirm that I would not take the place of a South African. As a PhD student, I receive financial support to cover my costs of living in the form of a bursary. While the confirmation of my place in the university system is almost certainly a question of finances (which are becoming more limited in South Africa), should the university also be concerned whether I am also taking a potential research topic of a South African student?

There are many benefits of international collaboration, but there are also some risks. For example, much of the fun of science is making new discoveries. I usually emphasize to the youth that they may be the first to find a ‘new’ species in our sample collections together as a form of motivation. However, will my field of science be as fun when every species has been found and described? I have colleagues who travel the world like its a race to describe and name as many fungi or fungus-like organisms as they can. This behavior gets even more ethically shady when searching for internationally regulated pathogens in countries without the capacity to regulate them. But even in my own situation as a PhD student receiving training, am I taking the fun away from a South African down the line? Advancing knowledge is globally important, but some approaches do not benefit local communities.

Ethics are not generally recognized as a motivation to initiate a citizen science project, but training and engaging local communities in scientific discovery can justify research projects led by foreigners. For example, I could have come to South Africa to complete the research I am doing, maybe giving 4–5 presentations to peers each year and having little impact outside of academia, or I could have established a citizen science project to engage local communities in the research. In this sense, citizen science provided an opportunity to conduct the research I was interested in with a more ethical approach as a foreigner.

Cape Citizen Science (http://citsci.co.za/) is a program that we initiated to aid research for my PhD. We are making progress to incorporate multiple projects under its umbrella, but the research has primarily contributed to our pilot project about plant-killing microbes thus far. The program is almost entirely collections based, asking citizens to contribute physical samples or participate in sampling activities, which have aided our research findings and led to many important discoveries. This research outcome was the primary motivation for us to initiate the citizen science project, but our dedication to education has increased over time.

During a recent workshop I attended, the organizers mapped various citizen science projects on a plane between education and research. They suggested one might develop a project for educational outcomes or research outcomes, but there was no discussion about ethics. What about developing a project for ethical outcomes, are they intrinsic to educational outcomes or are they different? For example, are there differences between citizen science projects that engage impoverished communities or groups that are historically under-represented in science compared to projects that engage privileged communities, even if they have the same educational objectives?

The first groups of youth we were able to engage in our project were certainly privileged and only later did we establish the partnerships needed to reach kids from impoverished communities. The first activities were in connection with an after-school group where parents...