CitSci4SSH

Citizen Social Science for Social Sciences and Humanities

CitSci4SSH is a 24-month higher education project designed to embed Citizen Social Science within accredited Social and Political Science courses at four European universities. It connects students and lecturers with civil society practitioners, fact-checkers and community experts to investigate how public narratives about migration, asylum and identity are created, circulated and interpreted.

Through participatory research, digital evidence analysis and structured community collaboration, the project strengthens students’ digital, analytical and civic competences while helping universities make community engagement a lasting part of their teaching.

The challenge

Social and Political Science students need practical skills to evaluate online evidence, recognise manipulative narratives and conduct research with communities. However, university courses often provide limited opportunities to combine these skills within assessed coursework.

Citizen Social Science brings academic inquiry together with knowledge from outside universities, yet its integration into Social Sciences and Humanities curricula remains uneven. When studying sensitive issues such as migration, asylum and identity, students also need clear ethical guidance to analyse contested narratives without reinforcing stereotypes or causing harm.

What the project does

CitSci4SSH combines curriculum development, lecturer training and Citizen Social Science Living Labs. Within these labs, students collect publicly available digital material, document its sources, verify claims and analyse how language, framing and circulation shape public understanding. The approach draws on concepts used to study Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI), including coordinated amplification and deceptive information practices.

Citizen contributors, including civil society professionals, mediators and fact-checkers, participate at defined stages to review evidence, test interpretations and identify implications for inclusion. Shared analytical tools and ethical protocols support consistent, responsible research across the participating countries.

The learning activities are designed for integration into credit-bearing university courses, supported by staff training, assessment tools and institutional approval processes.

What the project will deliver

• Four to six teaching modules, each worth 3–5 ECTS, designed for integration into at least eight accredited university courses.
• A validated pedagogical framework, shared analytical codebook and ethics protocol for Citizen Social Science.
• National evidence packs, a comparative narrative atlas and practical toolkits for students and citizen contributors.
• An accessible multilingual platform providing open educational resources, teaching materials and case studies.
• Staff training materials, institutional integration guidance and recommendations to support wider adoption across higher education.

The project plans to run 8–10 Living Lab pilots involving at least 160 students and 40 expert citizen contributors. Expected outcomes include stronger digital research and critical analysis skills, better preparation for academic staff, and lasting partnerships between universities and civil society.

The partnership

CitSci4SSH brings together six organisations from five countries, coordinated by Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece): the Institute for Methods Innovation (Ireland), Cyprus University of Technology (Cyprus), the University of Zagreb (Croatia), C.I.P. Citizens in Power (Cyprus) and the University of Malta (Malta).

The partnership combines expertise in journalism and media studies, participatory research, fact-checking, curriculum development, evaluation and civic engagement. University pilots will take place in Greece, Cyprus, Croatia and Malta.

CIP’s role

As a project partner, Citizens in Power leads the development of the national evidence packs, pedagogical framework and multilingual open educational resources platform. CIP also coordinates train-the-trainer activities to help academic staff apply the methodology in their teaching.

CIP leads citizen partnership arrangements, recruitment and onboarding, develops the Citizen Toolkit, and co-leads Living Lab delivery. Its contribution supports accessible participation, clear roles for community experts and responsible handling of sensitive material.

CIP also leads communication, dissemination and exploitation, managing the project website and digital presence, engaging stakeholders and supporting the reuse of results. It commits to maintaining the open educational resources platform for at least five years after the project ends.