Periodic Reporting for period 1 - Impetus (Impetus)
Reporting period: 2022-07-01 to 2023-06-30
The IMPETUS project aims to support and recognize Citizen Science (CS) in Europe. More specifically, the project was born to enable more diverse Citizen Science Initiatives (CSIs) to access funding, to bring CS closer to society and policy makers, to acknowledge CS’s role in tackling the greatest challenges of our times, and to enable CSIs to contribute to Green Deal (GD) and UN SDG commitments.
The main specific objectives of the IMPETUS project are:
• Opening routes to funding for a more diverse range of CSIs.
• Strengthening the bond between society and science.
• Recognising the role of citizen science in Europe.
• Enhancing the contribution of CS to achieving SDG and Green Deal targets.
The main specific objectives of the IMPETUS project are:
• Opening routes to funding for a more diverse range of CSIs.
• Strengthening the bond between society and science.
• Recognising the role of citizen science in Europe.
• Enhancing the contribution of CS to achieving SDG and Green Deal targets.
Significant accomplishments have been made during this first reporting period (RP1), including the effective implementation of the first Open Call and the selection and acceleration of 34 CSIs. The progress of the objectives in RP1 is presented below:
• Objective 1 – Opening up financial avenues for a wider range of CSIs. IMPETUS has successfully carried out its first Open Call and prize competition, granting a combined sum of 315,000€ to support 34 citizen science pilots and an additional 100,000€ to fund 3 exceptional citizen science projects. These financial contributions aim to empower these initiatives to achieve the significant impact they truly deserve. The application process was open to participants from all across the EU and associated nations, regardless of their organizational background or grassroots nature. As a result of their success, the selected CSI pilots have been welcomed into the accelerator program.
• Objective 2 – Strengthening the bond between society and science.
The IMPETUS accelerator has offered financial backing and assistance to a wide range of Citizen Science Initiatives (CSIs) at various developmental phases. The selection process for the pilots involved expert evaluation, considering aspects such as the idea's novelty, implementation strategy, the strength of the team and its community involvement, and the expected impact. To ensure inclusivity and active participation, a Citizen Panel was established to contribute by defining a challenge for the Open Call, providing suggestions for prize competitions, and assisting in the outreach efforts of IMPETUS.
• Objective 3 – Recognising the role of citizen science in Europe. The annual prize has acknowledged and celebrated three exceptional citizen science projects. The top prize of 60,000€ was bestowed upon the Belgian project titled "Isala: Citizen-science map of the vaginal microbiome." This initiative focuses on conducting scientific investigations of the vaginal microbiome to identify early-stage clinical conditions and implement appropriate therapeutic measures. The Diversity & Collaboration award, valued at 20,000€, was granted to the "Urban Belonging project," which delves into the urban experiences of underrepresented groups in Copenhagen. Additionally, the Digital Communities award, also worth 20,000€, was presented to "The Restart Project: The Right to Repair and Reuse your electronics," an initiative based in London that aims to address the issue of excessive e-waste in Europe. To further promote their work and achievements, a dedicated platform was established for the recipients of these awards. (https://ars.electronica.art/citizenscience/en/winners/).
• Objective 4 – Enhancing the contribution of CS to achieving SDG and Green Deal targets. In this first Open Call IMPETUS focused on funding CSIs addressing challenges in the following topics: Healthy Planet and Cities for Life. The CS projects that were selected under the topic “Healthy Planet for all” were indeed related to SDGs #3, #6 and #15, and applicants were asked to elaborate on indicators and metrics relevant to them. To continue, the accelerator has and is still providing training and support for CSIs to create high-quality datasets, published according to FAIR practices, validated according to established methodologies, and aligned to the needs of official data providers such as statistical offices or custodian agencies of SDGs. Training on SDGs targets and indicators and how to impact on them through project activities have been also provided. In parallel, interviews to key stakeholders and a careful literature review have been conducted for identifying opportunities and challenges related to the contribution of CS to achieving and monitoring SDGs and for their downscaling at local level.
In addition, significant attention was devoted to developing the tools needed for project monitoring and impact evaluation. The IMPETUS impact assessment has been developed and the projects selected via the first Open Call have been trained to use it. Monitoring and evaluation tools have been developed and are used on a regular basis, especially for monitoring the Accelerator. In parallel, the dashboards that will visualize the results and impacts of the supported and awarded projects have been co-designed with the support of the entire consortium. The consortium also participated in the first Reflexivity Workshop: an occasion to collectively analyse the activities carried out in the first months of IMPETUS and highlight successes and aspects to be improved.
From a communication and dissemination perspective, IMPETUS has reported that the most significant results for this period were certainly the important number of applications submitted for the first call, for the Accelerator and for the EU Prize, respectively. Furthermore, the management of the consortium has been smooth, internal project procedures have been set up and applied by partners. Finally, the independent ethics advisor has been appointed and the data and ethics templates have been implemented in the CSI work plans.
• Objective 1 – Opening up financial avenues for a wider range of CSIs. IMPETUS has successfully carried out its first Open Call and prize competition, granting a combined sum of 315,000€ to support 34 citizen science pilots and an additional 100,000€ to fund 3 exceptional citizen science projects. These financial contributions aim to empower these initiatives to achieve the significant impact they truly deserve. The application process was open to participants from all across the EU and associated nations, regardless of their organizational background or grassroots nature. As a result of their success, the selected CSI pilots have been welcomed into the accelerator program.
• Objective 2 – Strengthening the bond between society and science.
The IMPETUS accelerator has offered financial backing and assistance to a wide range of Citizen Science Initiatives (CSIs) at various developmental phases. The selection process for the pilots involved expert evaluation, considering aspects such as the idea's novelty, implementation strategy, the strength of the team and its community involvement, and the expected impact. To ensure inclusivity and active participation, a Citizen Panel was established to contribute by defining a challenge for the Open Call, providing suggestions for prize competitions, and assisting in the outreach efforts of IMPETUS.
• Objective 3 – Recognising the role of citizen science in Europe. The annual prize has acknowledged and celebrated three exceptional citizen science projects. The top prize of 60,000€ was bestowed upon the Belgian project titled "Isala: Citizen-science map of the vaginal microbiome." This initiative focuses on conducting scientific investigations of the vaginal microbiome to identify early-stage clinical conditions and implement appropriate therapeutic measures. The Diversity & Collaboration award, valued at 20,000€, was granted to the "Urban Belonging project," which delves into the urban experiences of underrepresented groups in Copenhagen. Additionally, the Digital Communities award, also worth 20,000€, was presented to "The Restart Project: The Right to Repair and Reuse your electronics," an initiative based in London that aims to address the issue of excessive e-waste in Europe. To further promote their work and achievements, a dedicated platform was established for the recipients of these awards. (https://ars.electronica.art/citizenscience/en/winners/).
• Objective 4 – Enhancing the contribution of CS to achieving SDG and Green Deal targets. In this first Open Call IMPETUS focused on funding CSIs addressing challenges in the following topics: Healthy Planet and Cities for Life. The CS projects that were selected under the topic “Healthy Planet for all” were indeed related to SDGs #3, #6 and #15, and applicants were asked to elaborate on indicators and metrics relevant to them. To continue, the accelerator has and is still providing training and support for CSIs to create high-quality datasets, published according to FAIR practices, validated according to established methodologies, and aligned to the needs of official data providers such as statistical offices or custodian agencies of SDGs. Training on SDGs targets and indicators and how to impact on them through project activities have been also provided. In parallel, interviews to key stakeholders and a careful literature review have been conducted for identifying opportunities and challenges related to the contribution of CS to achieving and monitoring SDGs and for their downscaling at local level.
In addition, significant attention was devoted to developing the tools needed for project monitoring and impact evaluation. The IMPETUS impact assessment has been developed and the projects selected via the first Open Call have been trained to use it. Monitoring and evaluation tools have been developed and are used on a regular basis, especially for monitoring the Accelerator. In parallel, the dashboards that will visualize the results and impacts of the supported and awarded projects have been co-designed with the support of the entire consortium. The consortium also participated in the first Reflexivity Workshop: an occasion to collectively analyse the activities carried out in the first months of IMPETUS and highlight successes and aspects to be improved.
From a communication and dissemination perspective, IMPETUS has reported that the most significant results for this period were certainly the important number of applications submitted for the first call, for the Accelerator and for the EU Prize, respectively. Furthermore, the management of the consortium has been smooth, internal project procedures have been set up and applied by partners. Finally, the independent ethics advisor has been appointed and the data and ethics templates have been implemented in the CSI work plans.
Several scientific publications are currently in progress.
IMPETUS has 34 CSI in progress which will yield scientific results.
IMPETUS has 34 CSI in progress which will yield scientific results.