ScienceUs - Crops Final Conference, From Local Action to European Impact

From Local Action to European Impact: Join the ScienceUs–CROPS Final Conference in Athens 25 November 2026 | Athens, GreeceHow can successful citizen science initiatives move beyond local experimentation, reach new communities and create lasting impact across Europe?On 25 November 2026, the ScienceUs and CROPS projects will come together in Athens for their Final Conference:“From Local Action to European Impact: The ScienceUs–CROPS Journey in Citizen Science Upscaling”The event will bring together citizen science practitioners, researchers, policymakers, project partners and stakeholders to exchange experiences, explore practical approaches to upscaling and reflect on how citizen-generated knowledge can contribute to more inclusive decision-making.Citizen science in actionA central part of the conference will showcase the experiences and achievements of the five initiatives supported by ScienceUs:CORE ACTS – Coastal Resilience: Action Through Citizen Science, IrelandThe Future is Climate, SpainBlue-Green Tops: Adapting Building Roofs for Climate Resilience, GreeceAcqua Sorgente, ItalyAlleviating Energy Poverty in Vulnerable Households, SpainTogether, these initiatives demonstrate how citizen science can address real societal and environmental challenges—from coastal and climate resilience to water monitoring and energy poverty.Their journeys also offer valuable lessons about what it takes to move from a promising local initiative to a sustainable model that can be replicated and adapted in other regions.From citizen-generated knowledge to policy impactCitizen science does not end with data collection. Its real potential emerges when evidence, community knowledge and lived experience are translated into decisions, policies and practical action.The conference will therefore explore how citizen science results and data can support inclusive policymaking, including the role of policy briefs in connecting project findings with the needs of decision-makers.Participants will also be introduced to the ScienceUs Upscale Academy, its portfolio of resources and the citizen science knowledge developed throughout the project.Exploring the practical dimensions of upscalingThe afternoon session will bring insights from the CROPS project and focus on three essential questions:Which citizen science projects are ready to scale?How can a citizen science project be successfully replicated and adapted?How can a scaled initiative remain useful, sustainable and connected to its communities?The discussion will draw on CROPS’ work in project curation, replication, orchestration, sustainability and community building.A dedicated CROPS Matchmaking Workshop, facilitated by OutBe, will create opportunities for participants to connect, exchange knowledge and explore potential collaborations. The conference will conclude with an open networking session.

ScienceUs–CROPS Final Conference

How can successful citizen science initiatives move beyond local experimentation, reach new communities and create lasting impact across Europe? On 25 November 2026, the ScienceUs and CROPS projects will come together in Athens for their Final Conference: “From Local Action to European Impact: The ScienceUs–CROPS Journey in Citizen Science Upscaling” The event will bring together citizen science practitioners, researchers, policymakers, project partners and stakeholders to exchange experiences, explore practical approaches to upscaling and reflect on how citizen-generated knowledge can contribute to more inclusive decision-making.

The D-NOSES Methodology and results to tackle odour pollution using citizen science

This webinar is the second of the D-NOSES Conference on Odour Management and Citizen Science series. Experts will present the D-NOSES scientific & innovative methodology to tackle odour pollution through citizen science as well as the pilot results. Additional aspects such as energizer, data validation and inclusiveness are addressed, besides an evaluation of the work done.

The D-NOSES project at a glance

This is the first webinar of the D-NOSES Conference on Odour Management and Citizen Science. After honourable opening remarks by EC representatives, the D-NOSES project will be introduced as an innovative methodology to tackle odour pollution through citizen science. The need of a multi-level governance model and a multi-level engagement model will be discussed, as well as the D-NOSES engagement model and project tools. Further, 10 citizen science interventions at local level to monitor and improve odour issues will be presented. Finally, the D-NOSES Exploitation and Sustainability Plan will be described.

Citizen Science for the Oceans: From observation to information - towards digital twins of the ocean

In this webinar you will learn about citizen science activities related to the oceans. We will use the case of jelly fish as an example, start with the observations done by citizens using mobile apps. Then you learn how the data can be integrated in systems, including the use of standards making the data, in this case biological data, interoperable. You will also learn how to approach making the apps themselves. As NextGEOSS already has citizen science data catalogued on the data hub, you will now learn how we will expand this with the help from among others Earthwatch through their contribution to the ILIAD project. This webinar aims to reach Earth observation professionals and students, Citizen science public and private organisations, App makers, ocean advocates, marine environmentalist, oceanographers, ecologists.

Citizen engagement TRANSFORMing regional R&I policymaking

Citizen engagement can strengthen trust between institutions and citizens. In the TRANSFORM project (funded under Horizon 2020) citizen science, co-design and co-creation have been applied to regional R&I decision-making in Lombardy, Catalonia, and Brussels-Capital. Through sharing of experiences and promising outcomes of citizen engagement in regional R&I policies, this participatory lab will provide examples and suggestions on how to create more open, transparent and inclusive regional R&I governance processes. Join us in an interactive session and learn more about the benefits of citizen engagement, get your questions answered by experts, share your experiences and suggestions for further applications in regional decision making. Registration opens on 30 August!

Ciencia ciudadana en apoyo a los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS)

[ES] El próximo 30 de septiembre, el grupo OSDG (formado por la consultora lituana PPMI, el grupo SDG AI Lab del Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo (UNDP) y una creciente comunidad de investigadores) junto con el Instituto INAECU (UAM-UC3M) organizará la Jornada ‘Ciencia ciudadana en apoyo a los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS)‘ que se realizará de forma virtual. La jornada se articulará en tres partes. En primer lugar, una mesa introductoria que reunirá a expertos internacionales relacionados con ciencia abierta y los objetivos de desarrollo sostenible. En una segunda parte, un workshop práctico dónde se presentará el proyecto OSDG Community Platform, un proyecto de ciencia ciudadana que pretende analizar como la ciencia, la tecnología y la innovación pueden contribuir a los ODS, mediante la participación de múltiples actores. Finalmente, se realizará una breve actividad participativa entre los asistentes sobre los enfoques y los principales dilemas/desafíos para conseguir las metas establecidas en la Agenda 2030. Agenda: 17.00-17.05 | Breve introducción (UNDP SDG AI Lab) 17.05-17.17 | Ciencia ciudadana para la sostenibilidad (Elías Sanz-Casado, UC3M) 17.18-17-30| ¿Qué podemos esperar de los los objetivos de desarrollo sostenible? (Javier Benayas, UAM) 17.30-17.45 | OSDG Community Platform: ciencia ciudadana para los ODS 17.45-18:15| ¿Cuáles son los enfoques y los principales desafíos relacionados con los ODS? (reflexión en pequeños grupos). 18:15-18.30 | Observaciones finales y cierre [EN] On September 30, the OSDG group (formed by PPMI, the SDG AI Lab group of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and a growing community of researchers) together with the INAECU Institute (UAM-UC3M ) will organize the Conference 'Citizen Science in support of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)' to be held virtually. The day will be divided into three parts. First, an introductory table that will bring together international experts related to open science and the sustainable development goals. In the second part, we will present the OSDG Community Platform projec , a citizen science project that aims to analyze how science, technology and innovation can contribute to the SDGs through participation of multiple actors. Finally, we will hold a brief participatory activity on the approaches and the main dilemmas / challenges to achieve the goals established in the 2030 Agenda. The event is free of charge, join us!

ORION Open Science Final Conference

The conference will consist of two parts of 3 hours each: 27 September - Co-creation, engagement and dialogue – Sharing experiences Get practical hands-on tips and tricks to engage the public in science and how to embed Open Science practices in your organisation. The session will highlight tools; citizen science activities, co-creation methodologies, funding frameworks, action plans and training materials developed and tested during the ORION Open Science project. 28 September - Embedding Open Science practices at national, European and institutional level Join policy makers and other stakeholders from across Europe to discuss ways to embed open science practices at national, European and institutional level as well as future collaboration opportunities.

How to open up research & innovation to young people?

Young people in Europe are facing many challenges with regard to social inclusion. Social participation, employment, social belonging are important examples. There is a pressing need to develop more knowledge and innovation to create more inclusive and youth-friendly societies. One way to contribute to this is Citizen Social Science with young people - Youth Citizen Social Science (Y-CSS). We organise a series of three webinars to discuss central questions of Y-CSS and to create a network of interested people. The webinars are for practitioners of Citizen Science, Community-based Research and youth engagement. We would be happy to learn from your experience and the questions you bring. We would be particularly grateful for young researchers and youth organisations to take part. We want to learn from their work and perspectives. People without prior experience are of course also very welcome. These are exciting conversations and we are working hard to make them happen in inclusive and equitable ways. Participation in the webinars is open to everybody and free of charge.

Citizen Social Science School: Social Dimensions in Citizen Science

This virtual experience will take place online from 13-23 September. The main goal of this event is to offer academic researchers a common space and a shared time to reflect, discuss, learn, and receive practical guidelines to explore social dimensions behind a wide set of Citizen Science practices related to social issues and when involving groups and persons in a vulnerable situation acting as co-researchers.

Webinar: Blueprint for reducing plastic pollution in rivers through citizen science

Rivers are critical to all life on the planet. They are a source of drinking water and a vital ecosystem for many species. Clean rivers are key. In most recent years, it becomes clear that our rivers are polluted with plastics. Scientific evidence shows that these polluted rivers also contribute to the worldwide plastic pollution of our oceans. In this webinar, we will present the blueprint of our Clean Rivers project and explain how to set a project that focusses on tackling river litter pollution. The program will be interactive to share experiences, knowledge and future collaborations. The program is targeted at non-governmental organisations, policy makers and advisors at European, regional and local level, politicians, waterboards, institutes, universities and companies. Join us for plastic free rivers in 2030!

Introduction to Citizen Science in Libraries Webinar

The Introduction to Citizen Science in Libraries Webinar will provide a general introduction to citizen science and explore how libraries can become partners in citizen science engagement. Learn how to access SciStarter’s library resources, build kits, and connect existing programs and communities to projects on SciStarter. This webinar is part of the Professional Development for Libraries Series hosted by the National Citizen and Community Science Library Network.

Open17 Challenge: Citizen Science for Climate and Gender

Join the 2021 #Open17 Challenge to pitch a project on how to address challenges around the world related to the climate and gender equality, using crowdsourcing and citizen science. You may be selected for online coaching, challenge-based innovation workshops, and even an invitation to pitch your idea to UN experts in Geneva. For details of the challenges that have been curated by the UN, and more information on how to submit your 3-minute video pitch on the Goodwall platform, check the link below. Deadline for Applications: Sunday 3rd October, midnight CEST

Learning Data Naturally SLA (Special Libraries Association) 2021

Public participation in scientific research through citizen science is gaining popularity across the world. Through data collection, citizen scientists contribute to the creation of open and research-grade data and build data literacy skills. Academic librarians are often uniquely positioned to promote citizen science projects both in the classroom and among community advocates, connecting researchers with life-long learners for the benefit of open science. During the on-demand session and throughout the conference, participants and attendees will ‘naturally’ engage with the process of science and learn data literacy skills such as data collection and sharing, by contributing to this dataset. Participants in the session will also be encouraged to pose questions, analyze data, draw conclusions, and communicate findings by exploring the data collected by conference attendees from around the world. Sign up/log into iNaturalist and join the project.