*5.3. The Role of Digital Tools in Climate Change Adaptation and Preparedness*

Digital tools and technology have an important role to play in rapid-response research, particularly climate change research focused in rural and remote areas. Digital devices, such as smartphones, can enhance citizens' access to specific resources or projects to connect with others about issues in their communities. These devices can serve as tools of equity [11], whereby all citizens with either a smartphone or digital connectivity can access essential information or engage on issues of interest. In the FEEDS Project, a custom-built smartphone app is being designed to capture information on specific priority areas, barriers, and opportunities for climate change preparedness and adaptation [40]. Qualitative data collection, which typically takes place in the form of key informant interviews and sharing circles, is also being adapted for digital storytelling following the lead of the Citizen Scientist Advisory Council.

In addition to amplifying citizen voices, digital data collection generates big data which can lead to collaborations across disciplines (i.e., environment, health, social justice) that are necessary for work on climate change adaptation and preparedness. In the FEEDS Project, big data collected by the community (quantitative and qualitative data from smartphones) will be linked to existing databases—including weather data (i.e., Environment and Climate Change Canada) and climate change trackers (i.e., Arctic observatories)—as the combination of historical and prospective data collection will enhance prediction models that can improve local climate preparedness strategies.

This cross-disciplinary collaboration with communities can lead to rapid-response interventions and the design of long-term strategies for climate change preparedness and adaptation. In order for our global efforts to succeed, local participation of multiple sectors is required to design and implement sustainable solutions. Digital tools can help with not only acquiring necessary data to inform this decision-making but also timely knowledge sharing both within and across communities that may be experiencing similar impacts of climate change.

#### *5.4. Challenges and Opportunities in Decolonizing Citizen Science Research*

Digital citizen science can aid in timely data collection, rapid-response interventions, and real-time engagement and knowledge dissemination. However, the lack of structured citizen recruitment and data management in most projects can lead to challenges with data quality, ownership, and security [15,67]. Study samples are especially important for research-driven projects; however, structured sampling strategies are not always possible in citizen science projects. Whether the project is community-based or focused on climate change impacts on health, randomized sampling strategies, for instance, may not be ethical or even logistically feasible [68]. In the FEEDS Project, key decision-makers and Knowledge Keepers in the community were first approached to identify appropriate modes of recruitment [39]. An effort is being made to enrol citizens from various sociodemographic (i.e., gender, age) and digital literacy categories. Based on the existing venues for communication in the community, the project is being promoted through social media, the Mayor's office, the school board email list, and the local radio station. The Advisory Council advised against randomizing citizen recruitment given the project's focus on climate change impacts on mental health, so that community participation in the project remained open.

Data quality is a challenge for digital citizen science projects as data collection may be less structured (i.e., user-triggered) for some components, and data analysis may need to be more flexible given intermittent data flow. A key consideration for projects focused on urgent, time-sensitive crises like climate change is that the focus cannot and should not be solely on research as a process. If the purpose of conducting this research is to aid in climate change preparedness and adaptation strategies, breaking conventional research protocols is often necessary to address issues in real time, or translate knowledge sooner than an anticipated wave of data collection is completed.

Data ownership is an important component of digital citizen science projects, as it relates to citizen and community data sovereignty. The FEEDS Project is building a system whereby citizen data are anonymous and encrypted to ensure that the OCAP principles of ownership, access, control, and possession over data are followed. The digital dashboard which displays community-level data is shared with decision-makers in real time, and the Mayor's office decides which stakeholders have access to different types of data [40]. The opportunity for real-time data access and communication increases the community's capacity to self-govern.

Of utmost importance for all digital data-based projects is data security and privacy. In order to protect citizens' identity and information, anonymizing data is an essential first step. Some projects, including FEEDS, rely on citizens identifying themselves to receive help; however, this must be made optional so that citizens have control over their information. To further ensure confidentiality, data encryption and limited access to personally identifiable information must be built into digital platform designs. The FEEDS Project also employs a pause feature whereby citizens can disable monitoring for a set duration of time. Secure server space, whether affiliated with a research institute or located locally within a community is part of the essential infrastructure for data security and privacy [9,17].

In addition to data-related concerns, research has identified lower participation of marginalized and lower socioeconomic status groups in citizen science projects [12,43]. Lower participation may be a result of deficits in study recruitment, a history of exploitation that discourages specific groups from engaging in research, and mistrust of research, among other reasons [23,35,43]. Given that these groups are also most likely to be adversely affected by issues like climate change, their participation is critical in digital citizen science projects. Promoting inclusivity and collaboration in this research relies heavily on processes like decolonizing and community-based partnerships, especially if we are to work together as a global society for climate change preparedness, adaptation, and mitigation.

#### **6. Conclusions**

Decolonizing citizen science has great potential to respond rapidly to global crises such as climate change. The FEEDS Project provides an example of how citizen science can not only be reimagined with a decolonized lens, but also how data sovereignty and self-governance can be promoted as part of community-driven research.

Decolonizing citizen science is critical to partnering with Indigenous communities in the digital age, and it can also facilitate equity among other marginalized populations and developing countries that have historically been impacted by colonization. The Bridge Framework is one small step in the decolonization of digital citizen science to conduct ethical research with Indigenous and marginalized communities in the 21st century. Digital citizen science, if decolonized, can play a significant role in protecting communities and natural habitats by accelerating action through collaboration between governments and civil society.

**Funding:** This research was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship.

**Institutional Review Board Statement:** Not applicable.

**Informed Consent Statement:** Not applicable.

**Data Availability Statement:** Not applicable.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The author declares no conflict of interest.
