Citizen Science Incubator

Do you have a research question that can only be answered through the engagement of a community interested in helping? The Citizen Science Incubator provides training and consultative support for getting your project off the ground. Projects may also be selected to be highlighted through the Citizen Science Campus!

Past Incubator Projects

• Soil Quest
• Stream Sense
• Wicked Words (news article)
• Fridge Factor (news article)
• STATE H2O: Student-led Testing & Assessment of Toxic Elements in tap water

Citizen science and other participatory sciences are the range of approaches in which science and society co-produce new knowledge. Many disciplines have their own forms of participatory research, and these research methods can be an effective way to gather data for complex and widespread challenges. With this program, we turn NC State’s campus into an incubator for participatory science projects and embed these opportunities into campus life.

The Citizen Science Incubator will offer training and consultative support for four participatory science projects. Participants in the Incubator will have the opportunity to apply to be featured in one of our campus programs:

• Pack Science Challenge, a university-wide challenge that engages students and community members as collaborators in ongoing research about their environment
• Wicked Problems, Wolfpack Solutions, a multidisciplinary online course created to engage all incoming first-year and transfer students and their families in thinking about grand challenges.
• Other partners (e.g., Environmental Science 101, Honors Forum, Student Organizations, Residential Communities… We’ll help find a group to pilot test your project).

Citizen Science Incubator projects will receive access to a variety of support structures, including:

• Four group training sessions on how to design a successful participatory sciences project, including creating protocols and instructions, sharing data and reporting results, evaluation and assessment, and grounding these practices in key ethical principles.
• One-on-one consultative support from the Citizen Science Campus.
• Opportunity to apply for your project to be featured in the Pack Science Challenge or Wicked Problems, Wolfpack Solutions course. Featured projects will receive:
  • Advertising and recruitment support
  • Customized SciStarter web page
  • $500 stipend to support the purchase of supplies
  • Assistance from graduate students in PSC 551

Eligibility

This opportunity is open to all faculty, staff, postdoctoral scholars, and graduate students at NC State. NC State community members from any disciplinary background with a participatory science-based project idea are encouraged to submit a proposal. We welcome proposals from individuals or teams.

Submission Instructions

Proposals should be submitted through the Citizen Science Campus Incubator Application Form (submissions no longer being accepted). All proposals must be received by 11:59 pm on the deadline of Friday, January 30, 2026. Decisions are anticipated by mid-February.

Important Dates

January 13, 2026 - Call for applications opens

• Faculty are invited to submit a brief application outlining a project.

January 30, 2026 - Call for applications closes

February 2-6, 2026 - Application review period

February 9-13, 2026 - Notifications sent and cohort confirmed

• Accepted participants are notified and asked to confirm participation before kickoff.

Cohort meetings on February 19, February 26, March 5, and March 12