The Citizen Social Science Project Roadmap helps different project actors continuously and iteratively plan their project activities and align them with concrete co-evaluation activities. It is especially helpful in cases where different organizations or a larger group of actors collaborate in the evaluation of a project.
As the Citizen Social Science Project Roadmap functions as a project management tool, it should be maintained by people with management responsibility. However, the concrete contents, tasks and activities should be co-designed with co-researchers as far as possible.
This method can either be implemented online or in a physical setting.
In online spaces, a shared digital whiteboard is needed where the Citizen Social Science Project Roadmap template is prepared for participants to work on together. Additionally, communication software for online calls is essential. [Computers/smartphones, digital whiteboard, communication software]
For physical meetings, the Citizen Social Science Project Roadmap needs to be printed or drawn on a flipchart. Ideally, the templates will be filled with sticky notes, but it is possible to write directly into the open spaces themselves. [Printer, flipchart, markers, papers, sticky notes/cardboard cards, room, tables]
The Citizen Social Science Project Roadmap is a tool for organizing and keeping an overview of a process. As such, it is best employed from the very beginning and updated regularly to document any changes in the implementation process.
- As a first step, it is important to define the project phases and narrow down their respectives timeframes as clearly as possible. Project phases differ according to the project design and might change during implementation. Thus, columns may need to be added or removed to fit the project design.
- Then, start filling in the concrete activities planned for each phase and the stakeholders involved in each of these steps. Be as specific as possible and try to capture all relevant activities.
- Finally, define potential co-evaluation tasks for each of the phases. It helps to tie these to the specific activities and potentially define formats and methodologies at this point already. However, keep in mind that these might have to change as well, according to the needs and possibilities of the stakeholders involved.
- Repeat the process as the project evolves throughout its lifetime.
Katja Mayer, Stefanie Schuerz, Barbara Kieslinger, Teresa Schaefer
ZSI – Center for Social Innovation
