SAMMEN FF: Collaboration for innovative citizen science

Project period: 2024-2025 
Funding: The Research Council of Norway
Project leader: Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo
Contact person in Østfoldmuseene: Marianne Løken, director of research and development, marianne.loken@ostfoldmuseene.no 
The project's website: https://www.khm.uio.no/forskning/prosjekter/sammenff/ 

Collaboration between the museums on the establishment of innovative folk research (SAMMEN FF) is a network project funded by the Research Council of Norway. The Museum of Cultural History leads the network project in collaboration with Østfoldmuseene and Norsk Folkemuseum. The project runs over 12 months from mid-March 2024 to mid-March 2025. 

The project aims to establish a lasting network for professional discussion of the museums' approach to citizen science and opportunities for new collaborative projects within this field. Citizen science  can include everything from people outside the museum contributing information and data that can be used in research, to active participation in the development, implementation and dissemination of research projects. 

The project's main aim is to establish a lasting network for dialogue about how museums understand and apply citizen science in their activities. This will strengthen the museums' research activities and incorporate these into institutional practices. The project will contribute to increased awareness and knowledge of why people conduct research - and how. 

Museums are research institutions that have interaction with a wider public as one of their core activities. A focus on the concept of citizen science contributes to an extended and renewed reflection in the museums. The project contributes knowledge to the field by investigating overlapping interests and areas where different museums can challenge and complement each other to establish projects that promote volunteering and involve various external actors in the museums' knowledge. 

In addition to establishing a joint knowledge platform through gatherings during the project period, the project will result in 1–3 concrete project ventures/application sketches, which can be further developed with a view to funding and start-up after the end of the project period. Dialogue and exchange between the museums and stakeholders after the project period will be maintained by initiating an annual seminar, digital or physical.