Citizen science for pandemic preparedness: enabling conditions for development of citizen knowledge in times of crisis

Communities and individual citizens play a crucial role in pandemic preparedness, not only in developing and implementing plans but also in increasing their own resilience. Citizen science can contribute to this by, for example, identifying disease outbreaks, collecting and analyzing data, and supporting policymaking and risk communication. The recent COVID-19 pandemic showed that enabling conditions for using citizen science for pandemic preparedness are not in place. Therefore, this research focuses on the enabling conditions needed to effectively engage citizens in knowledge development for pandemic preparedness. We conducted an exploratory qualitative study consisting of fourteen interviews and four workshops and identified two overarching enabling conditions: public and professional recognition of citizen science and an accessible infrastructure for knowledge sharing and collaboration. Investing in a solid social, material, and technological infrastructure before a crisis strikes is necessary for fostering citizen engagement in knowledge development for pandemic preparedness. By strengthening these enabling conditions and taking the role of citizens in research seriously, citizen science can contribute not only to more effective pandemic preparedness but also to broader societal resilience in future crises.