Citizen Science for Sustainability: 30 Inspiring Citizen Science Initiatives

Around the world, different actors from across sectors and stakeholder groups are working with citizens on changing lifestyles towards a more sustainable future. That’s why the question how to enable citizens to lead more sustainable lifestyles is gaining increased attention. It is with this focus that we approach the topic of citizen science in this report, exploring how this method can be used towards achieving more sustainable lifestyles across Europe.

The report is designed to provide an overview of the current context of citizen science for sustainability, the emerging innovations in the field, and what can be learnt from the most inspirational examples when it comes to designing new citizen science initiatives in the context of sustainable lifestyles. We derive our main findings from desk-based research, the development of 30 inspirational case studies of citizen science projects, and interviews with 27 stakeholders who have been involved in citizen science initiatives.

From the analysis of the interviews, the report shares findings under 4 key elements of citizen science projects: setting up and reaching out to participants; gathering data from and with citizens; keeping people engaged; and implementing meaningful change. Following this analysis, the report includes 30 inspirational case studies of citizen science initiatives as well as ways how the PS Lifestyle project’s will build on them to shape the citizen science living labs in the upcoming phases of the project.