Excerpt:
Our bill on citizen science (that started with my briefing the awesome AAAS fellow Rose Mutiso in Sen Coons’ office in early 2014) was incorporated into the American Innovation and Competitiveness Act (COMPETES) (see Sec 402), which is now on its way for signing by the President.
Section 402 makes clear that federal agencies may use crowdsourcing and voluntary, collaborative citizen science to advance their missions. This legislation will help agency staff get past the automatic ‘no’ of higher ups and general counsels who may be initially cautions of innovative new approaches.
Source: Competes Act Passes Senate, House, Supports Citizen Science