The Observatory of Citizen Science in Spain (Observatorio de la Ciencia Ciudadana en España)

The Observatory of Citizen Science in Spain and the web portal ciencia-ciudadana.es are the result of a project developed by the Ibercivis Foundation with the collaboration of the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT)-Ministry of Science and Innovation. The Observatory has had the collaboration of the FECYT since 2016, when it was launched, through its annual call for grants for the development of scientific, technological and innovation culture.

The Observatory seeks to facilitate knowledge about citizen science. The definition of citizen science is not fixed; it is an evolving concept and new forms of involvement are constantly appearing. Putting them on the map allows us to understand the whole from the parts. By giving visibility to the projects, we make it easier to increase participation in the different active citizen science projects. It also facilitates coordination and synergies between projects. Anyone interested can share projects, resources and results in the different areas of citizen science. 

The Observatory promotes a variety of activities - meetings, interviews, publications, hackathons, etc. - and collaborates in other activities organised by different entities. 

Objectives of the Observatory

• Increase knowledge and approaches to citizen science
• Give visibility to projects in order to facilitate participation and to disseminate their objectives and results
• Identify the actors (research groups, funding programmes, citizen initiatives, physical spaces, NGOs...), analyse the impacts of the different projects, promote the adoption of best practices, and lay the basis for a continuous monitoring of citizen science in Spain over time
• Facilitate synergies and collaborations between projects, and share resources and methodologies in the different fields of scientific research
• Understanding the influence of citizen science on scientific culture
• Understand how this scientific methodology is changing the relationship between science and society as a whole, through the diverse practices of citizen participation in research

You can access the Observatory reports (in Spanish) at this link.

The Principal Investigator of the Observatory is Francisco Sanz-García, Executive Director of Ibercivis, and the coordinator is Maite Pelacho, researcher and project manager at Ibercivis, working on this project together with the whole Ibercivis team.

Geographic extend