Welcome to the Citizen Science Lighthouse

ECS project
June 1, 2023, noon

Dear reader,

Welcome to the first issue of the Citizen Science Lighthouse, the newsletter of the ECS Collaboration Group. Whether you are curious to find out more about citizen science or are already involved in it as a citizen scientist or citizen science professional, you are in the right place. We are glad that you want to become part of this journey as we explore the field of citizen science, its different aspects and its richness of initiatives and activities together and share experiences, useful resources, exciting events, and the latest news of the group. 

The Citizen Science Lighthouse is coordinated by the European Citizen Science (ECS) project and with it, we aim to contribute to the overall objective of the project: strengthening and expanding the citizen science community in Europe. The ECS project team brings together 12 partners and 9 affiliated entities led by the European Citizen Science Association that are joining forces in this effort in a project that runs until summer 2026. Now, ten months into the project, we would like to share with you some of what we have been working on and anticipate what you will be hearing more about next:

We are involving the citizen science community through co-design to develop new services for the eu-citizen.science platform. Keep your eyes peeled for upcoming platform launches. To support the building of capacity and knowledge, ECS is setting up the ECS Academy with plenty of training opportunities for a variety of audiences – we want to help improve the skills and knowledge about designing and implementing citizen science activities and allow easy access for newcomers.

Moreover, we are taking an inclusive perspective in all the participatory activities within and beyond the project and are starting to engage public libraries to reach other communities. At the same time, we have been working on a framework to assess the impact of citizen science (initiatives) and on a strategy for policy engagement and we are reviewing experiences for the co-design and co-development of data infrastructures since we aim to enhance the digital skills towards FAIR developments in citizen science.

I look forward to sharing plenty of news from the ECS project with you over the next few years, and, most importantly, celebrating all of the wins and achievements in the wider citizen science community. You can expect regular issues of the Citizen Science Lighthouse in your inbox around four times a year. If we cannot wait for the next issue to share an important piece of news with you, you might hear from us in-between.

Enjoy the read!

Claudia Fabó Cartas,

ECS Project Manager

European Citizen Science Association