Brief Policy Report of the High-Level Policy Event Citizen Science for Policy across Europe

The EU-Citizen.Science project launches the Brief Policy Report which contains the information, resources, conclusion and survey results of the High-Level Policy Event  Citizen Science for Policy across Europe which was held online on June 22nd 2021 within the context of the European Research and Innovation Days 2021. This Report and the related content will be discussed at the online conference The future of citizen science: sharing experiences from the European community, organized by the EU-Citizen.Science and ACTION projects on November 24-25 2021.

The EU-Citizen.Science project has released the Brief Report of the High-Level Policy Event Citizen Science for Policy across Europe, which was held online on June 22nd 2021 as a satellite event of the European Research and Innovation Days 2021. This event was organized in the framework of the EU-Citizen.Science project with the aim to explore the current state of citizen science in Europe and enhance synergies across borders. The event was curated by the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology, FECYT, Ibercivis Foundation and the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin and it received the support of the European Commission, the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, the Portuguese Ministry of Science and Technology and Higher Education and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

The Brief Report provides the information about the event, as well as the resources mentioned in the debates and new ones that help to get a broader picture about the role of citizen science for policy making across Europe. It also illustrates the results of the questionnaire which was distributed among the participants in the event: governmental organisations, industry, NGOs & civil society organisations and academia. For example, 60% of respondents answered that citizen science is important in their national agenda and they highlighted some important measures adopted in support of citizen science such as the FECYT Call, the Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare (Forte) Call and the National Action Plan Open Government Partnership Germany. Furthermore, the respondents put in evidence the role that citizen science can play for research and for policy making, and the importance to work hand in hand with policy makers to promote social and political change in research and innovation.

The Brief Report includes an infographic which highlights how publications that mention citizen science are growing in numbers since 2010 and scientists across the continent confirm that citizen science can deliver good quality data. In addition, the infographic describes the economic impact that citizen science can have by increasing social and technological innovation, budget savings and budget availability to tackle additional issues of public concern.

On November 24-25 2021 there will be the opportunity to further discuss these topics within the context of the final conference of the EU-Citizen.Science and ACTION projects The future of citizen science: sharing experiences from the European community. This event is aimed at sharing experiences and stimulating debates about the role citizen science can play in supporting a sustainable, just and green Europe. Furthermore, on November, the 25th from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm (CET) another satellite high-level policy event will take place. The full programme and registration are available at this link.

About EU-Citizen.Science
EU-Citizen.Science has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Framework Programme for Research and Innovation under grant agreement No. 824580.