Sec. 402. Crowdsourcing and citizen science
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It is the sense of Congress that— the authority granted to Federal agencies under the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 ( Public Law 111–358 ; 124 Stat. 3982) to pursue the use of incentive prizes and challenges has yielded numerous benefits; crowdsourcing and citizen science projects have a number of additional unique benefits, including accelerating scientific research, addressing societal needs, providing hands-on learning in STEM, and connecting members of the public directly to Federal agency missions and to each other; and granting Federal agencies the direct, explicit authority to use crowdsourcing and citizen science will encourage its appropriate use to advance agency missions and stimulate and facilitate broader public participation in the innovation process, yielding numerous benefits to the Federal Government and citizens who participate in such projects.
In this section: The term citizen science means a form of open collaboration in which individuals or organizations participate voluntarily in the scientific process in various ways, including— enabling the formulation of research questions; creating and refining project design; conducting scientific experiments; collecting and analyzing data; interpreting the results of data; developing technologies and applications; making discoveries; and solving problems. The term crowdsourcing means a method to obtain needed services, ideas, or content by soliciting voluntary contributions from a group of individuals or organizations, especially from an online community.
The term participant means any individual or other entity that has volunteered in a crowdsourcing or citizen science project under this section. The head of each Federal agency, or the heads of multiple Federal agencies working cooperatively, may utilize crowdsourcing and citizen science to conduct activities designed to advance the mission of the respective Federal agency or the joint mission of Federal agencies, as applicable. Notwithstanding section 1342 of title 31, United States Code, the head of a Federal agency may accept, subject to regulations issued by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, services from participants under this section if such services— are performed voluntarily as a part of a crowdsourcing or citizen science project authorized under paragraph (1); are not financially compensated for their time; and will not be used to displace any employee of the Federal Government.
The head of each Federal agency engaged in a crowdsourcing or citizen science project under this section shall make public and promote such project to encourage broad participation. Each Federal agency is authorized to determine the appropriate level of consent, registration, or acknowledgment of the terms of use that are required from participants in crowdsourcing or citizen science projects under this section on a per-project basis. In seeking consent, conducting registration, or developing terms of use for a project under this subsection, a Federal agency shall disclose the privacy, intellectual property, data ownership, compensation, service, program, and other terms of use to the participant in a clear and reasonable manner.
A Federal agency or Federal agencies, as applicable, may obtain consent electronically or in written form from participants under this section. Any crowdsourcing or citizen science project under this section that involves research involving human subjects shall be subject to part 46 of title 28, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulation). A Federal agency shall, where appropriate and to the extent practicable, make data collected through a crowdsourcing or citizen science project under this section available to the public, in a machine readable format, unless prohibited by law.
As part of the consent process, the Federal agency shall notify all participants— of the expected uses of the data compiled through the project; if the Federal agency will retain ownership of such data; if and how the data and results from the project would be made available for public or third party use; and if participants are authorized to publish such data. Federal agencies shall endeavor to make technologies, applications, code, and derivations of such intellectual property developed through a crowdsourcing or citizen science project under this section available to the public.
Each participant in a crowdsourcing or citizen science project under this section shall agree— to assume any and all risks associated with such participation; and to waive all claims against the Federal Government and its related entities, except for claims based on willful misconduct, for any injury, death, damage, or loss of property, revenue, or profits (whether direct, indirect, or consequential) arising from participation in the project. Federal agencies coordinating crowdsourcing or citizen science projects under this section shall make all practicable efforts to ensure that participants adhere to all relevant scientific integrity or other applicable ethics policies.
The head of each Federal agency engaged in crowdsourcing or citizen science under this section, or the heads of multiple Federal agencies working cooperatively, may enter into a contract or other agreement to share administrative duties for such activities with— a for-profit or nonprofit private sector entity, including a private institution of higher education; a State, tribal, local, or foreign government agency, including a public institution of higher education; or a public-private partnership.
In carrying out crowdsourcing and citizen science projects under this section, the head of a Federal agency, or the heads of multiple Federal agencies working cooperatively— may use funds appropriated by Congress; may publicize projects and solicit and accept funds or in-kind support for such activities from— other Federal agencies; for-profit or nonprofit private sector entities, including private institutions of higher education; or State, tribal, local, or foreign government agencies, including public institutions of higher education; and may not give any special consideration to any entity described in subparagraph (B)(ii) in return for such funds or in-kind support.
The Administrator of the General Services Administration, in coordination with the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, shall, at no cost to Federal agencies, identify and develop relevant products, training, and services to facilitate the use of crowdsourcing and citizen science projects under this section, including by specifying the appropriate contract vehicles and technology and organizational platforms to enhance the ability of Federal agencies to carry out the activities under this section.
The head of each Federal agency engaged in crowdsourcing or citizen science under this section is encouraged— to consult any guidance provided by the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, including the Federal Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science Toolkit; to designate a coordinator for that Federal agency’s crowdsourcing and citizen science projects; and to share best practices with other Federal agencies, including participation of staff in the Federal Community of Practice for Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science.
Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall include, as a component of a report required under section 24(p) of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 ( 15 U.S.C. 3719(p) ), a report on the activities carried out under this section. The report required under paragraph
(1)shall include— a summary of each crowdsourcing and citizen science project conducted by a Federal agency during the most recently completed 2 fiscal years, including a description of the proposed goals of each crowdsourcing and citizen science project; the participation rates, submission levels, number of consents, or any other statistic that might be considered relevant in each crowdsourcing and citizen science project; a description of— the resources (including personnel and funding) that were used in the execution of each crowdsourcing and citizen science project; the activities for which such resources were used; and how the obligations and expenditures relating to the project’s execution were allocated among the accounts of the Federal agency; a summary of the use of crowdsourcing and citizen science by all Federal agencies, including interagency and multisector partnerships; and any other information that the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy considers relevant. Nothing in this section may be construed— to affect the authority to conduct crowdsourcing and citizen science authorized by any other provision of law; or to displace Federal Government resources allocated to the Federal agencies that use crowdsourcing or citizen science authorized under this section to carry out a project.
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U.S. Code
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- Pub. L. 111-358
- 124 Stat. 3982
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