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.

Mainstreaming citizen science at Ecsite2024 conference

In a 3-minutes show, the representatives of ECSA and of the ECS project showcases the potential of citizen science, the way ECSA works and the main characteristics of the ECS project. They use 3 coloured balls of yarn to create a web that unravels during the show and ultimately involve the viewers. The Ecsite conference is one of the main events dedicated to public engagement with about 1000 participants from science centres, museum, universities, associations and private companies.

Building resilience to natural disasters

Based on insights developed in ACCTING (https://accting.eu/) research activities and experience from related projects and initiatives, this webinar will explore the vital role of local communities and indigenous knowledge in responding to natural disasters and preserving ecosystems.

PolSCA Webinar series on Horizon Europe – Citizen Science Policy and Practicalities of Engaging Citizens in R&I

Join us as we explore the transformative potential of Citizen Science in shaping the future of research and innovation in Europe and beyond. The webinar is organized within the scope of the PolSCA Horizon Webinars series, targeting research managers, project administrators, and researchers operating in Poland. Its goal is to enhance understanding of citizen engagement, the multi-actor approach, and social readiness concepts in the context of the second Strategic Plan for the Horizon Europe program, upcoming calls within the Work Programmes 2025, and the increasing importance of citizen science in R&D projects. Citizen Science, endorsed by the European Commission and encapsulated within the Horizon Europe programme, represents a paradigm shift in research and development. It champions a multi-actor approach, inviting citizens to actively participate in scientific endeavors, from data collection to analysis, thus democratizing the scientific process. Within the framework of Horizon Europe, Citizen Science serves as a catalyst for social readiness, fostering inclusivity, transparency, and trust in research and innovation.

Collaborations Workshop 2024

Collaborations Workshop 2024 (CW24) will bring together researchers, developers, innovators, managers, funders, publishers, policy makers, leaders and educators to explore best practices and the future of research software. CW24 will take place as a hybrid event from Tuesday 30 April to Thursday 2 May 2024, at the University of Warwick, UK. Registration is open via Eventbrite until Friday 5 April 2024. The full agenda can be found here. The themes of CW24 will be: Environmental Sustainability AI/ML tools for science Citizen science Each topic will be the subject of a keynote talk: Keynote 1: AI/ML Tools | Arfon Smith is a product manager at GitHub and works on integrating AI into the core GitHub experience. He also works on bringing open source to academia by improving support for scholarly work on the platform. Keynote 2: Citizen Science | Lucy Robinson leads the Community Science Programme at the Natural History Museum, London, and is an internationally recognised citizen science specialist with 15 years of experience. Keynote 3: Environmental Sustainability | Dr Kelly Widdicks is a Software Systems Architect at the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology and leads research on the responsible co-design of digital research infrastructure for environmental science. Further information about the keynote speakers can be found here.

Let’s discuss data and the eu-citizen.science platform with and for the citizen science community!

The ECS project invites everyone from the citizen science (CS) community to a joint event featuring the launch of the latest updates of the eu-citizen.science platform on April 24th, followed by the Cluster event on data infrastructure, services and practices on April 25th, 2024. On April 24th, from 10:00 to 12:00 CEST, we will present the eu-citizen.science platform's latest features, designed to benefit the CS community. Plus, there will be a training session to demystify the use of metadata generated by CS platforms. This session will use an interactive approach to describe and better understand the communities behind these platforms, enhancing your ability to engage with and contribute to the CS community. On April 25th, from 9:00 to 12:30 CEST, we will hold the Cluster Event on data practices, services and infrastructures in CS. The first part of the event will include presentations and Q&A sessions with key speakers in the field. The second part of the event will enable participants to discuss their needs and challenges in terms of data visualisation and analysis, qualitative data infrastructures and services as well as data ethics and policies. Key speakers are: - Michael Arentoft, Head of Unit, Open Science and Research Infrastructures, DG Research & Innovation, European Commission - Karel Luyben, President of the EOSC Association - Giovanni Maccani, Research Director, Ideas for Change - Dr. Pierre Bonnet, Botanist, CIRAD, BIOS Dept., UMR AMAP and Scientific coord. of the Pl@ntNet citizen science platform - Dr. Gefion Thuermer, Head of Research, Open Data Institute - Alessia Smaniotto, Citizen Science Officer, Operas See here the full agenda for both days: https://tinyurl.com/p3yb77w9 Register here: https://tinyurl.com/mp4yrrjx

“Médiation et Recherches Participatives” Journée d’étude #2

Pour leur deuxième rendez-vous, les journées “Médiation & Recherches Participatives” s’invitent donc au TURFU Festival afin de proposer aux professionnel·le·s de la médiation et de la recherche un temps d’échange et de pratique.

Pathways to increase the uptake of citizen science generated data by local policy makers

Join SOCIO-BEE for an online workshop dedicated to exploring how to leverage the impact of CS-generated data, particularly in the realm of air quality, on local policy-making. Rosamund Adoo Kissi Debrah from Ella Roberta Family Foundation, will give a keynote talk on, ‘The importance of personal stories in creating global change’, and you will hear about the experiences accumulated by the EU Horizons SOCIO-BEE and CitiObs projects. Following this, participants will have the opportunity to engage in interactive sessions aimed at exploring strategies to overcome challenges facing CS projects related to accessibility, scalability and data quality.

TERRA SCIENTIFICA, LE RENDEZ-VOUS DES VOYAGES QUI ONT DU SENS !

C’est notre participation active à nous, citoyens, en incluant la science à la vie en général et à celle de la communauté humaine. C’est la réappropriation de l’éducation par les citoyens, et leur implication dans les sciences, avec pour objectif la délégation des enseignements aux différents «  sachant  ». Tout le monde possède un ou des savoirs (savoir, savoir-faire, savoir-être) à transmettre aux autres membres de la communauté (jeunes ou âgés)  : «  Un savoir se doit d’être transmis, gardé en secret, il ne sert à rien ni personne  »  Les sciences viennent plus s’impliquer dans nos vies de citoyens et nous rendent service. Ex  : confort, maîtrise de l’impact de nos vies sur les autres vies environnantes, ou promulgation de la vie dans notre quotidien.  C’est la mise en corrélation de la Recherche Scientifique avec la communauté de concitoyens que NOUS sommes. En s’impliquant dans un projet de recherche communautaire en amont, dans son cours sa conclusion et sa promulgation, on s’oriente alors vers la «  Recherche Participative  ».

From idea to impact: Successful citizen science in Flanders

Scivil turns five in 2024! To celebrate this anniversary, we invite you to join us on March 11 in Leuven for an inspiring afternoon dedicated to successful citizen science projects in Flanders and beyond. Four projects will showcase how they successfully developed citizen science from concept to impact. Following the presentations, you can ask all your burning questions to the project initiators during a panel discussion. We will conclude with a festive reception.

Un Tiers-Veilleur pourquoi comment ? Quel accompagnement des projets de recherche participative ?

En collaboration avec l’Ecole de la Médiation et Sciences Citoyennes Invité.e.s : Tristan Lescure (ANR), Julia Bonaccorsi (VP Sciences et Société Lyon 2), Evelyne Lhoste (INRAE) ; animation Isabelle Proux (Ecole de la Médiation) La recherche participative vise la coconstruction des savoirs en engageant des chercheurs et des non-chercheurs qui peuvent être des professionnels, des citoyens ou des personnes concernées, apportant leur expertise et la croisant à celle des scientifiques. Constatant qu’il ne suffit pas toujours de se réunir et d’avoir envie de travailler ensemble pour que cela fonctionne et ne reproduise pas les hiérarchies entre types de savoirs, le dispositif tiers-veilleur apparait progressivement comme une forme d’accompagnement méthodologique qui tend à s’institutionaliser. Pourquoi ce tiers ? Comment existe-il aujourd’hui ? Evenement ouvert aux étudiant.e.s, doctorant.e.s, enseignant.e.s-chercheur.e.s, personnels d'accompagnement de la recherche, et toute personne curieuse de la fabrique des recherches participatives. Inscription obligatoire

Science participatives

Les sciences et recherches participatives peuvent être définies comme des formes de production de connaissances scientifiques auxquelles participent - avec des chercheurs - des acteurs de la société civile, de façon active et délibérée. Les objectifs de cet enseignement seront : 1) de caractériser les sciences et recherches participatives en embrassant la diversité des disciplines concernées et des approches existantes ; 2) d’apporter aux étudiants des outils théoriques et méthodologiques pour la mise en place de recherches participatives.

Webinar training on VERA, the Virtual Ecosystem for Research Activation, developed through the COESO project

Join our webinar training on VERA, the Virtual Ecosystem for Research Activation, developed through the COESO project (Collaborative Engagement on Societal Issues). 📅 Date: 16 January 2024 ⏲️ Time: 11:00-12:00 CEST 🚩 Register now: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEld--rpz4qEtdUv1lf9dydbluoUKHcpYDc Participatory research/ citizen science in social sciences and humanities disciplines usually involves small-scale, intense collaborations between members of academic institutions (universities and other research institutions) and members of non-academic organizations that work directly with the community (community-based organizations, non-governmental organizations, civil associations, small businesses etc.). The VERA platform serves as a “collaboratory” where participatory research/citizen science projects can be realized and new collaborations can be established. Through its profiling and matchmaking tool, its project management features and its funding database, VERA helps projects get started, stay organized, and find the necessary funding. At this webinar, participants will get guidance on how to use VERA platform. The COESO project is a 3-year project funded until Dec 2023 by the European Commission's Science with and for Society grant and supported by the OPERAS research infrastructure.