Paper short abstract:

We analyze three different projects of citizen science based in Barcelona (Spain) from the point of view of privacy and data protection, and present some general concerns, risks and solutions that should be considered by any European citizen science project.

Paper long abstract:

Responsible Research and Innovation approach shows not only a strong compromise on ethics and transparency but also on privacy and data protection. These aspects are fully relevant when dealing with citizen science projects. If citizen science practices want to be fully aligned with RRI philosophy, they should therefore carefully consider privacy and data protection when they approach and communicate with volunteers. Unfortunately, there not many studies considering these aspects in relation with the engagement strategies. Moreover, the studies are mostly focused on US standards and analyze US based projects, which may differ in many ways from European approaches. We have analyzed three different projects of citizen science based in Barcelona (Spain) and we thus present some general concerns and risks in an abstract manner that should be considered by any European citizen science project. Additionally, we propose some principles on privacy and data protection adapted to citizen science research context. For instance, we adapt Privacy by Design principles to citizen science practices.