The 2026 Conference for Advancing the Participatory Sciences (CAPS2026) took place online from 26–29 May 2026, bringing together researchers, facilitators, and community leaders from across the participatory sciences for four days of discussion, collaboration and knowledge sharing.
During the conference, CDT student Nimisha Parashar (2023 cohort) and CDT alum Dr Liz Dowthwaite co-convened a topical discussion session, “Points and Participation: Gamification and Behaviour Change in Citizen Science.”
The session explored how game-inspired approaches are being used in citizen science projects to encourage participation, learning, and continued engagement. Bringing together practitioners, researchers and members of the citizen science community, Nimisha and Liz facilitated discussions around the successes, challenges and lessons learned from using gamification in real-world projects.
The session highlighted the growing interest in understanding how thoughtful design approaches can support meaningful participation and longer-term impact in citizen science.
