Self-Assessment Survey for Citizen Social Science Projects

Full description

Aim

The aim of the Self-Assessment Survey is to trigger a reflection on the process of implementing Citizen Social Science as well as on its impacts across the involved stakeholders. It can be undertaken at the beginning, during and towards/after the end of a project. Thus, it may help adjust a project’s trajectory during its runtime and evaluate its impact after its activities have largely been implemented. When used at a very early stage, it can also support the planning and alignment of project activities and goals.

Who to involve

Ideally, the Self-Assessment Survey is undertaken by a mixed group of involved stakeholders, including professional researchers, co-researchers, and possibly even members of the otherwise involved stakeholder community. As the content of the survey refers to all of these stakeholder groups, the negotiation process between these actors is highly valuable to the assessment of the project at hand.

Further materials

The Self-Assessment Survey has been set up as an online questionnaire. As such, a computer is needed to fill out the survey. While the answers are given in scores, it can be valuable to document the discussion as important aspects of the project will pop up. The Self-Assessment conversations can take place both physically or in an online meeting space.

Step-by-Step

The Self-Assessment Survey is an online questionnaire that is filled in question by question. It is preferable to have a facilitator to read the questions out loud and mediate the conversation, but it is not necessary. Open fields can be filled with discussion notes and conversations can be recorded to ease note-taking.

Authors & Affiliation

Barbara Kieslinger, Teresa Schaefer, Katja Mayer, Stefanie Schuerz
ZSI – Center for Social Innovation