The European community platform and mutual learning space for Citizen Science

Citizen Science is a rapidly expanding and diversifying field of innovation with significant implications for, and potential benefits to, society, policy, and various academic research areas. This heterogeneity led to a fragmented and not fully coordinated European Citizen Science landscape.
The ambition of EU-Citizen.Science was to build, fill, and promote a sustainable platform and mutual learning space providing different tools, best practice examples and relevant scientific outcomes that are collected, curated, and made accessible to different stakeholders, ranging from interested citizens over scientific institutions up to politicians and public media in order to mainstream Citizen Science in Europe. This breakthrough was pursued through three interconnected lines of activity: (i) coordination of citizen science actions and leveraging of existing resources in the presently fragmented landscape of Citizen Science in Europe, (ii) engagement of quadruple helix stakeholders at all levels (local, national and European), and (iii) creation of a mutual learning space and a set of comprehensive co-designed training modules for the different target audiences. Moreover, following a transparent, open and inclusive approach, EU-Citizen.Science promoted interdisciplinary, cross-border, cross-sector collaboration, and gave rise to significant social innovation and new business models through the creation of new partnerships and the provision of novel sustainability-supporting tools.
The EU.Citizen.Science project involved 14 partners and 9 third parties, representing 14 European countries and a variety of stakeholders ranging from universities, NGOs, local authorities, CSOs and natural history museums, along with several other project supporters. Many of the partners were already engaged in other SwafS projects related to RRI, co- creation and citizen science, as well as numerous initiatives at national or local level.

Team:

• Magª. Teresa Schäfer / Schaefer, (formerly known as Holocher-Ertl) (project leader)
• Dr. Claudia Magdalena Fabian
• Dr. Barbara Kieslinger
• Mag. Dr. Klaus Schuch

Section: Technology and Knowledge

Partners:

• Museum für Naturkunde (Coordinator)
• Association Europeenne des Expositions Scientifiques, Techniques et Industrielles
• Conservation Education and Research Trust
• Internationales Institut für Angewandte Systemanalyse
• Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness - Spain
• Municipio de Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo
• Mykolo Romerio Universitetas
• Natural History Museum London
• Trinity College Dublin
• Universiteit Leiden
• University College London
• Verein der Europäischen Bürgerwissenschaften
• Vetenskap & Allmänhet, VA

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Tags: citizen science