Citizen Science and the Social Responsibility of Scientists

Philosophers of science and scholars in science and technology studies have recently focused their attention on civic participation in research processes, commonly described as ``citizen/participatory science'' (Irwin 1995, Curtis 2018). This paper provides evidence from an exemplary case of such participation in applied fields of science and analyses how civic participation in research processes affects the awareness and motivation of individual scientists to accept social responsibilities in agenda setting. We compare this phenomenon with Philipp Kitcher's approach to establishing well-ordered science (Kitcher 2001, 2011) and subsequently discuss recent policy initiatives aiming at institutionalising civic participation in research policies.