Periodic Reporting for period 1 - SOCIO-BEE (Wearables and droneS fOr CIty Socio-Environmental Observations and BEhavioral ChangE)
Reporting period: 2021-10-01 to 2023-03-31
Green Deal project SOCIO-BEE ambitions the scalable activation of changes in citizens’ behaviour in support of pro-environment action groups, local sponsors, voluntary sector and policies in cities.
The project focuses on the quality of air in the urban environment. The European cities constitute the home of 75% of the European population a total of approximately 340 million people. Αir pollution is one of the key threats for the inhabitants of many European cities. The main drivers behind the air pollution is energy demand and mobility. An example of the relation between mobility and pollution offered during the COVID-19 crisis. The forced behavioural change due to COVID-19 pandemic, showed a change in energy demand patterns and a 17% drop in CO2 emissions during the lockdown due to the reduced surface transport. Such cases provide strong indications that policy-measures and human action have great potential on emission reduction. Reducing air pollution requires technological innovation and a behavioural shift. Such changes in order to be effective require collaboration between citizens, businesses, volunteers and decision makers.
SOCIO-BEE proposes that community engagement and social innovation combined with Citizen Science (CS) through emerging technologies and playful interaction can bridge the gap between the capacity of communities to adopt more sustainable behaviours aligned with environmental policy objectives and between the citizen intentions and the real behaviour to act in favour of the environment (in this project, to reduce air pollution).
Community engagement can raise other citizens’ awareness of climate change and their own responses to it, through experimentation, monitoring, and observation of the environment.
SOCIO-BEE adopts the metaphor of bee-hives(with queens, working and drone bees as main CS actors), interested stakeholders that aim at learning from results of CS evidence-based research (honey bears).
The SOCIO-BEE hives will be tested in three different pilot sites Zaragoza, Ancona and Maroussi, with different target population and different behavioural change challenges:
1. Zaragoza: Agile and joyful education for children (8 to 16 yo) on environment issues to increase the preference of healthier options for mobility inside the city
2. Ancona: Change of habits of elder citizens to prefer a non-polluted and non-crowded environment for their activities to increase the preference of green and more “sportif” options for mobility in the city
3. Marousi (Amaroussion): Change of mobility choices of commuters (daily routes) based on measurements of their individual exposure to air pollution, that lead to changes in emissions in the city
The main objectives of the project are:
1. To support air pollution reduction initiatives in cities through widely adopted air pollution reduction actions and citizen involvement that will create long lasting effects and behavioural change.
2. Development of low-cost modular wearable hardware solution suitable for large crowdsourcing environmental measurements ensuring mass adoption and replicability.
3. Development of a citizen science-based web platform to allow CS Hives in the active collection of environmental and socio-economic data through wearable technologies and research-based instruments.
4. To establish an open and sustainable decision-making process with a data analysis platform for the overall CS process: cross-linking of environmental data in collaboration with citizens, scientists, citizen observatories and local decision makers.
5. To bridge the gaps in pollution understanding in urban environmental monitoring and remediation actions through the scientific process.
6. To address the data protection and privacy as well as other legal, ethical and societal concerns related to wearable-based air quality monitoring approach and the relationship of involved citizens in the CS hives.
7. Development of sustainable exploitation models around the SOCIO-BEE platform to ensure economic and environmental feasibility and sustainability of the overall CS platform.
The project focuses on the quality of air in the urban environment. The European cities constitute the home of 75% of the European population a total of approximately 340 million people. Αir pollution is one of the key threats for the inhabitants of many European cities. The main drivers behind the air pollution is energy demand and mobility. An example of the relation between mobility and pollution offered during the COVID-19 crisis. The forced behavioural change due to COVID-19 pandemic, showed a change in energy demand patterns and a 17% drop in CO2 emissions during the lockdown due to the reduced surface transport. Such cases provide strong indications that policy-measures and human action have great potential on emission reduction. Reducing air pollution requires technological innovation and a behavioural shift. Such changes in order to be effective require collaboration between citizens, businesses, volunteers and decision makers.
SOCIO-BEE proposes that community engagement and social innovation combined with Citizen Science (CS) through emerging technologies and playful interaction can bridge the gap between the capacity of communities to adopt more sustainable behaviours aligned with environmental policy objectives and between the citizen intentions and the real behaviour to act in favour of the environment (in this project, to reduce air pollution).
Community engagement can raise other citizens’ awareness of climate change and their own responses to it, through experimentation, monitoring, and observation of the environment.
SOCIO-BEE adopts the metaphor of bee-hives(with queens, working and drone bees as main CS actors), interested stakeholders that aim at learning from results of CS evidence-based research (honey bears).
The SOCIO-BEE hives will be tested in three different pilot sites Zaragoza, Ancona and Maroussi, with different target population and different behavioural change challenges:
1. Zaragoza: Agile and joyful education for children (8 to 16 yo) on environment issues to increase the preference of healthier options for mobility inside the city
2. Ancona: Change of habits of elder citizens to prefer a non-polluted and non-crowded environment for their activities to increase the preference of green and more “sportif” options for mobility in the city
3. Marousi (Amaroussion): Change of mobility choices of commuters (daily routes) based on measurements of their individual exposure to air pollution, that lead to changes in emissions in the city
The main objectives of the project are:
1. To support air pollution reduction initiatives in cities through widely adopted air pollution reduction actions and citizen involvement that will create long lasting effects and behavioural change.
2. Development of low-cost modular wearable hardware solution suitable for large crowdsourcing environmental measurements ensuring mass adoption and replicability.
3. Development of a citizen science-based web platform to allow CS Hives in the active collection of environmental and socio-economic data through wearable technologies and research-based instruments.
4. To establish an open and sustainable decision-making process with a data analysis platform for the overall CS process: cross-linking of environmental data in collaboration with citizens, scientists, citizen observatories and local decision makers.
5. To bridge the gaps in pollution understanding in urban environmental monitoring and remediation actions through the scientific process.
6. To address the data protection and privacy as well as other legal, ethical and societal concerns related to wearable-based air quality monitoring approach and the relationship of involved citizens in the CS hives.
7. Development of sustainable exploitation models around the SOCIO-BEE platform to ensure economic and environmental feasibility and sustainability of the overall CS platform.
The consortium's achievements by Month 18 of the project, include the following:
• The roles of Citizen Scientists in the SOCIO-BEE experimentation have been defined
• A thorough engagement methodology backed by an actionable toolkit was built, taking into account all aspects of inclusion and equalitarian participation
• A sound legal and ethics substrate has formed to govern the handling of personal data and rights of the citizens that will participate in the pilots
• Detailed user requirements have been drafted and translated into technical specifications of the technological base of the project
• The first release of the SOCIO-BEE technology has been developed, including the prototype portable sensor device for air quality measurements and the platform which implements all anticipated functionality
• Thorough preparatory activities have been conducted towards the initiation of the first round of SOCIO-BEE pilots
• The results of project’s activities in the first 18 months have been disseminated through events and scientific publications
• The roles of Citizen Scientists in the SOCIO-BEE experimentation have been defined
• A thorough engagement methodology backed by an actionable toolkit was built, taking into account all aspects of inclusion and equalitarian participation
• A sound legal and ethics substrate has formed to govern the handling of personal data and rights of the citizens that will participate in the pilots
• Detailed user requirements have been drafted and translated into technical specifications of the technological base of the project
• The first release of the SOCIO-BEE technology has been developed, including the prototype portable sensor device for air quality measurements and the platform which implements all anticipated functionality
• Thorough preparatory activities have been conducted towards the initiation of the first round of SOCIO-BEE pilots
• The results of project’s activities in the first 18 months have been disseminated through events and scientific publications
The SOCIO-BEE vision is to integrate all supporting technologies and engagement strategies to motivate citizens to co-create and co-execute air pollution monitoring campaigns, while driving the behavioural change to reduce air pollution. The project aims to explore a novel approach for stakeholder engagement and an interoperable integrated suite of advanced technological components.
The engagement methodology have been developed in the first year of the project as a thorough actionable approach to support the building of the Citizen Science (CS) hives at the city level. It addresses all aspects of citizen rights protection such as privacy, inclusion and equalitarian participation. The engagement methodology is backed by the SCOCIO-BEE Toolkit. This is a procedural instrument aiming to build the hives i.e. the SOCIO-BEE ecosystem.
At the technology domain, SOCIO-BEE intends to achieve progress beyond the state of the art in the following areas:
1. A framework for citizen engagement and democratization of CS
2. A co-creation framework for citizen science
3. A behavioural change framework for citizens involved in CS actions
4. Enabling tools for Citizen Science through technology and playful interactions
5. A micro-volunteering engine for crowdsourcing ensuring the success of CS actions
6. Customizable Wearables for air pollution-related citizen science actions
7. City Environment pollution and exposure analytics and intelligence for seamlessly understanding air quality data collected
The expected project impacts are listed as follows:
1. Contribution to connecting Citizen Science with scientific community
2. Contribution to connect Citizen Science with institutions
3. Contribution to Citizen Science as growth engine for businesses
4. Contribution to citizens’ awareness/consciousness
5. Contribution to environmental monitoring
6. Contribution to citizen’s behavioural change
7. Improving social and open innovation capacity
8. Innovative financing strategies
9. Study of standards, frameworks, supporting financial instruments and business models to mobilize a market for Citizen Science projects
10. Scientific Literacy and Informal Science education
11. Closing technology gaps
The engagement methodology have been developed in the first year of the project as a thorough actionable approach to support the building of the Citizen Science (CS) hives at the city level. It addresses all aspects of citizen rights protection such as privacy, inclusion and equalitarian participation. The engagement methodology is backed by the SCOCIO-BEE Toolkit. This is a procedural instrument aiming to build the hives i.e. the SOCIO-BEE ecosystem.
At the technology domain, SOCIO-BEE intends to achieve progress beyond the state of the art in the following areas:
1. A framework for citizen engagement and democratization of CS
2. A co-creation framework for citizen science
3. A behavioural change framework for citizens involved in CS actions
4. Enabling tools for Citizen Science through technology and playful interactions
5. A micro-volunteering engine for crowdsourcing ensuring the success of CS actions
6. Customizable Wearables for air pollution-related citizen science actions
7. City Environment pollution and exposure analytics and intelligence for seamlessly understanding air quality data collected
The expected project impacts are listed as follows:
1. Contribution to connecting Citizen Science with scientific community
2. Contribution to connect Citizen Science with institutions
3. Contribution to Citizen Science as growth engine for businesses
4. Contribution to citizens’ awareness/consciousness
5. Contribution to environmental monitoring
6. Contribution to citizen’s behavioural change
7. Improving social and open innovation capacity
8. Innovative financing strategies
9. Study of standards, frameworks, supporting financial instruments and business models to mobilize a market for Citizen Science projects
10. Scientific Literacy and Informal Science education
11. Closing technology gaps