Organizing from the Middle Out: Citizen Science in the National Parks

This poster presents initial findings from a dissertation pilot study on a citizen science project involving the public with scientists in collaborative research. The goal for the pilot study was familiarity with the contextual factors that influence citizen science project design, and in turn, observing how the design choices contribute to the project’s knowledge creation and participation outcomes. The initial results highlight an unexpected form of ‘middle-out’ organizing that challenges assumptions about top-down and bottom-up organizing, as the location of the top and bottom are clearly a matter of perspective in inter-organizational partnerships.