Citizen Science for the Future of Europe: behind the scenes
Fermín Serrano Sanz Serrano
June 4, 2025, 8:21 a.m.
In May 2025, the European Citizen Science community proudly launched a new position paper: Citizen Science for the Future of Europe.
This publication, jointly developed by ECSA’s Working Group on Policy, Strategy, Governance and Partnerships and the European Citizen Science project, makes a strong case for deeper integration and dedicated support for citizen science in the 10th Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (FP10). But how did we get here?
What began as a simple idea in spring 2024 evolved into a year-long journey of co-creation. Here’s a look behind the scenes through some facts and personal reflections.
Building a vision, together
When Barbara Heinisch and I took on the role of co-chairs of the ECSA Working Group in early 2024, we didn’t start with a clear roadmap. This WG is essentially a community of unfunded individuals with diverse backgrounds, trying together to ensure citizen science is better integrated into European research and policy.
Almost immediately, we received an important request from ECSA headquarters: to update and publish a position paper that could help shape FP10, at a time when the future of dedicated funding for citizen science remained uncertain. The idea was first raised by a European Commission policy officer, who expressed concern about the direction of the initial FP10 negotiations.
Having previously contributed to the White Paper on Citizen Science for Europe under the Socientize project (2012–2014), which helped shape Horizon 2020 (FP8), I was personally very motivated to put in some effort again. The feeling was familiar: once more, we had the chance to advocate for citizen science at a critical policy moment for Europe, and we wanted to do it supported by the collective approach.
Some may call this “lobbying,” while I see it as engagement for science, and the way we run this process is similar to any other citizen science initiative. With our contributions, we’re not just reacting to policy agendas; we’re helping shape them with our values, our institutions, and our communities. We are making the European Union.
And so, we began working. We immediately started working on it within the ECSA WG and, in a couple of months, it was agreed to have this effort as a result of the collaboration among ECSA and the ECS project.
Figure 1. A moment of the first WG meeting addressing this position paper
We originally hoped to complete the paper in six months. Nowadays, anybody is able to write such a paper in one or two months… But it took twelve. Yes, that’s the reality of co-creation and collective writing: it takes additional time and effort to integrate diverse voices. This can be both chaotic and rewarding at the same time. From my experience, it’s always worth it.
During the second part of 2024, approximately 20 working group and consortium members actively contributed before going to the public for refinement and endorsement. We worked mainly through shared documents and two important sprints came during the summer and again at the end of the year. The process resulted in over 100 emails exchanged, tens of draft versions and working meetings, dozens of community comments plus three external expert reviewers (who chose to remain anonymous, thank you again!). After that, the graphic design phase took several weeks and was funded through the ECSA WG budget.
The result: a clean, professional, and accessible format that reflects the quality of the content and the seriousness of our ambitions. We were all happy and satisfied with the output.
Let’s build bridges
The paper has been officially released in May 2025. The launch campaign includes a website, a dedicated video campaign featuring citizen scientists and advocates, a social media push coordinated across ECSA, ECS, and partners, plus a key role in the upcoming ECS+IMPETUS cluster event that will take place in Brussels 19th June.
The website hosting the paper citizensciencefp10.eu features a great picture taken by our colleague Daniel Lisbona (who also developed the site at Fundación Ibercivis) of the iconic Clifton Suspension Bridge.
Figure 2. Website citizensciencefp10.eu (Photo credit: Daniel Lisbona, Ibercivis)
This is not casual and it is not just visual: we understand citizen science as a bridge—between research and society, between citizens and policies. We don’t just produce knowledge, we connect. So, with the website hosted by Ibercivis we are delivering a statement: we need to build bridges.
The bridge isn’t just a striking image. It represents what citizen science does best: connect. It links research and society, decision-makers and communities, scientists and citizens. In these days of polarization, we need this more than ever.
Final thoughts and call to action
From what I’ve heard recently, the position paper and its arguments have been appreciated and it seems that we can be optimistic about the evolution of citizen science in the design of the FP10 – EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, succeeding Horizon Europe, and is scheduled to launch in 2028 and run for seven years, until 2034. Let’s see what comes next. Anyway, we must keep on trying to push things forward.
For now, let’s take a moment to celebrate. This wasn’t just the creation of a paper: it was a collective act of future-making. A shared effort to reflect on the role of citizen science in Europe—and to envision what it could become. As the position paper highlights, citizen science offers more than data and it fosters trust, inclusion and innovation, delivering both social and economic benefits.
Was it challenging? Absolutely. Was it boring or funny? Hmm. Policy work can be slow, technical, and invisible. But it matters — especially now, as science and democratic values face increasing scrutiny across Europe.
Looking ahead, my own focus is on the RIECS-Concept project which has the potential to play a pivotal role in ensuring the excellence and long-term sustainability of citizen science in Europe, beyond EC funding programmes. This vision of an integrated set of citizen science-based resources forming a service-oriented infrastructure, accessible to all the future researchers and communities, is what occupies most of my time today. It also aligns with the ambition expressed in the position paper.
More importantly, to me, the real power of citizen science lies in the people who participate because they care.This isn’t about institutions chasing more funding—it’s about citizens shaping the future, and about researchers using the best available tools. And someone has to translate that energy into policy terms—and that’s what this paper aimed to do.
If you’re curious about how far this position paper can go, I encourage you to revisit the 2014 White Paper on Citizen Science for Europe and check its actual impacts, reflect on what has changed—and what still needs to be done.
And of course: read the new position paper. If you agree with its message, please endorse it and help us amplify the call for action citizensciencefp10.eu
Fermín Serrano Sanz
Co-chair ECSA Working Group on Policy, Strategy, Governance and Partnerships |
RIECS-Concept Coordinator | Fundación Ibercivis