- Convenors:
-
Vanessa-Sarah Salvo
(Institut de Ciències del Mar (CISC))
Karen Soacha (Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM-CSIC))
Send message to Convenors
- Format:
- Roundtable
Short Abstract
Despite recognition in global frameworks, citizen science remains underintegrated in policy and regulations. The dialogue explores mechanisms to strengthen environmental compliance and policy uptake, including observatories and data readiness level to ensure quality
Description
International frameworks recognize citizen and participatory science as components for effective environmental preservation and management (e.g. Kunming-Montreal GBF, SDGs, Ocean and Ecosystem Restoration Decades). However, significant challenges persist in integrating CS into policy processes such as data quality concerns, accessibility, trust among decision-makers and the long-term sustainability of CS initiatives. This dialogue, coordinated by ENFORCE, seeks to explore the science-policy-public interface sharing experiences between EU-funded projects ENHANCE and RIECS-Concept and participants. To assess the impact of citizen and participatory science on environmental governance identifying key challenges and best practices within the data-to-policy pipeline on three core components:
Data acquisition: CS enhances data collection by combining the knowledge of non-specialists and experts, thereby increasing the scientific knowledge base and geographical and temporal scales of coverage. However, a critical challenge lies in integrating citizen-generated data into formal monitoring systems and enforcement actions establishing methodologies to ensure completeness and reliability.
Data integration: there are concerns about data quality and interoperability, the CS data are perceived carrying lack of scientific rigour, therefore the adoption of citizen science by policymakers, regulators and scientists remains a challenge. Furthermore, the traceability of citizen-generated data within policy and enforcement processes is limited making it difficult to identify the actual integration and impact.
Data and policy: currently CS may not fully align with key policy and regulatory priorities or adequately cover all the essential compliance needs. Conversely, limited awareness and understanding among policymakers and regulators hinder recognition of citizen and participatory science value.
Accepted contributions
Short Abstract
Bridging the citizen science and policymaking gap requires effective communication. A systematic review of environmental citizen science articles revealed research often fail to address policy implications, few make strategic recommendations, and scientists rarely outline policy impacts achieved.
Abstract
Bridging the gap between citizen science data and effective policymaking necessitates timely and efficient communication. While citizen science initiatives generate valuable environmental data, findings and reports produced by scientists are infrequently accessed or read by policymakers. This disconnect limits the potential of citizen science to positively influence policy development and environmental governance.
In an ongoing systematic search of 9,277 articles from Web of Science and Scopus databases on environmental citizen science and policymaking, it was noted that a studies often did not explicitly address policy implications. Many failed to connect their findings to the practical needs of policymakers, few offered strategic recommendations, and only rarely did studies report direct policy impacts.
Based on these preliminary findings, we hypothesise that: (1) environmental citizen science studies that explicitly discuss policy implications are more likely to influence policymaking; (2) studies offering strategic recommendations have greater potential for policy uptake; and (3) studies that report actual or potential policy impacts are more effective in bridging the science–policy gap. We also hypothesise that collaborative approaches—where scientists and citizens co-produce knowledge and frame results with policy relevance—are most likely to generate actionable guidance and measurable policy influence.
This analysis aims to discover what communication strategies within citizen science research can strengthen the pathway from data generation to policy implementation, thus improving the uptake of evidence generated by the citizen science research community.
Short Abstract
As regulators, we are using citizen science within catchment planning frameworks. Regulatory decisions that affect nature, people and places rely on assured data of known quality. Our talk will explore how our tiered, weight-of-evidence approach helps us use citizen science data responsibly.
Abstract
The Environment Agency is increasingly embracing citizen science as a complementary source of environmental intelligence, particularly in environment planning. As a regulator tasked with safeguarding people and places, we must ensure that decisions are based on credible, assured evidence.
The EA’s Technical Advisory Framework offers a practical structured way to guide the development of citizen science and assess existing initiatives based on their purpose effort, and data quality. This framework is part of our work with partners to transform local observations into trusted, actionable environmental insights that inform catchment management and national policy.
When combined with a weight of evidence approach, it allows citizen science data from different levels and scales to be considered alongside professional monitoring, modelling, and historical records, building a more complete and trusted evidence base.
The 4 tiers are:
• 0- includes low-effort, high-participation activities like blitzes, ideal for awareness and broad engagement.
• 1- involves moderate effort and coordination, producing useful indicative data.
• 2- supports more rigorous, quality-assured monitoring with training and validation.
• 3- aligns closely with professional standards, enabling integration into regulatory datasets.
Recent reviews have highlighted the growing importance of citizen science and confirmed that, with proportionate assurance, it can support the evidence base underpinning regulation and policy.
Through embedding this tiered framework, we will be able to better understand how to bridge the data-to-policy gap. By promoting inclusive participation while ensuring the rigour and traceability required for regulatory confidence, this will support a maturing partnership between communities and regulators.
Short Abstract
Increasing and institutionalizing contributions to ECA implies connecting the individual plans and actions of civil society and institutional actors. This requires fostering social readiness, i.e. changing mind sets and behaviours, as much as addressing technical challenges.
Abstract
The more4nature project is exploring an increased role of citizens and communities in environmental compliance assurance (ECA) processes related to zero pollution, biodiversity protection and deforestation prevention. Essentially, increasing and institutionalizing contributions to ECA implies connecting the individual plans and actions of civil society and institutional actors, whether for data collection, data integration or policy monitoring and evaluation. Using a socio-technical approach and working with a large number of existing citizen science initiatives, more4nature takes case actors through a facilitated process that is designed to stimulate social learning and socio-technical experimentation, enabling them to envision and experiment with new roles and interactions to create previously unimagined possibilities in ECA. We aim to institutionalise contributions to ECA via citizen generated data as well as citizen and community-led actions. more4nature can contribute to this roundtable with specific insights from our needs analysis in 10 cases and provide an overview of the inventory of capacity building materials that we have produced for addressing identified social, technical and socio-technical needs, incentives and barriers that stand in the way of greater collaboration in ECA.
Short Abstract
Transformational adaptation requires ways to monitor when change is truly systemic and just. This contribution explores how citizen and participatory science can co-develop qualitative indicators rooted in risk perception, sense of place and participation.
Abstract
As international frameworks increasingly call for transformational adaptation, the challenge lies not only in implementing change but in understanding how to assess it. While recent debates (Biesbroek et al., 2025) highlight the political and conceptual ambiguity of what counts as “transformational”, citizen and participatory science can offer an innovative response, by linking the production of environmental data with the lived, social, and cognitive dimensions of change. This session of roundtable proposes to reconceptualize the data-to-policy pipeline as a co-assessment space where citizen-generated evidence supports the monitoring of adaptation’s transformative quality. Drawing on transdisciplinary experiences in urban adaptation, the dialogue explores how three social drivers - risk perception, sense of place, and participatory governance - can act as qualitative indicators revealing when adaptation moves beyond incremental fixes toward structural, cultural, and institutional reconfigurations. The roundtable will also foster reflexive discussion on the politics of defining and measuring transformation: whose knowledge counts, what forms of evidence are legitimised, and how citizen science can contribute to a fairer framing of adaptation progress.
By connecting social cognition, place attachment, and participatory practice with data readiness frameworks, this session envisions a next-generation approach to monitoring transformational processes, one that merges scientific robustness with democratic legitimacy and enables learning across diverse territories and communities.
Short Abstract
Radiation measurements by citizen have limited uses in scientific studies and by regulators. However, the social importance of citizen data cannot be ignored anymore, especially in emergency situations. What are the necessary conditions for increasing the use of these citizen data by regulators?
Abstract
Emerging in late-1990s in Belarus, citizen-led radiation measurements fostered a practical radiation protection culture among populations in contaminated areas. These initiatives surged in 2011–12 after the Fukushima accident, driven by public distrust in Japanese authorities’ data. The rise of internet and social media further amplified data sharing and visibility. Recently, renewed interest has emerged due to uncertainties in Eastern Europe. However, citizen measurements remain confined to personal environmental monitoring and educational purposes, with minimal adoption by authorities for environmental monitoring or radiological emergencies.
The constraints on using citizen radioactivity data—whether for environmental monitoring or emergencies—were discussed at a recent European meeting involving regulators, experts, and citizen network representatives. Key challenges include the quality of measurements and interoperability, influenced by technical, educational, and operational factors. Additionally, radiation measurements inherently carry a political dimension, tied to health and environmental concerns, requiring citizen networks to address pedagogical aspects.
The Fukushima accident demonstrated that regulators and decision-makers can no longer dismiss citizen data. They must now incorporate these measurements—despite their uncertainties—into decision-making processes. This necessitates dialogue between authorities, experts, and citizen networks to ensure data reliability and utility in all scenarios.
The path forward requires improving measurement standards, fostering trust, and integrating citizen data into official frameworks. Collaboration is essential to overcome technical and political barriers, transforming grassroots initiatives into recognized tools for radiological risk management.
Short Abstract
I am interested in the role of local governments as partners in citizen science for urban air quality. Drawing on cases from Norway and the Netherlands, I aim to share insights on municipal motivations, challenges, and the policy relevance of citizen science data and dialogue.
Abstract
My research focuses on the participation of local governments in citizen science initiatives for urban air quality, based on interviews from both central and peripheral municipalities in Norway and the Netherlands. I am particularly interested in understanding the motivations that drive municipalities to collaborate with citizens in air quality monitoring, as well as the specific challenges they encounter when integrating citizen-generated data into policy processes.
Through case studies such as Hollandse Luchten in the Netherlands and a wood-burning monitoring project in the Norwegian municipality of Bærum, I have observed that municipalities are motivated by the desire to design more effective policies, improve the quality and relevance of air quality data, and raise local awareness. At the same time, municipalities face significant barriers—including concerns about data credibility, resource limitations, and alignment with formal policy frameworks.
My motivation for participating in this roundtable is to contribute practical insights on how local governments navigate the opportunities and challenges of citizen science, and to discuss strategies for making citizen-generated data more actionable for policy. It is not only the data that comes from citizen science initiatives that is policy-relevant. I hope to learn from other participants’ experiences and to explore how we can collectively support municipalities—both in central and peripheral contexts—as essential partners in bridging the citizen science data-to-policy gap for healthier urban environments.
Short Abstract
Citizen science often fails to influence policy despite public engagement. We argue that inclusive collaboration and digital tools that clarify data can help participants communicate results more effectively to policymakers, increasing the impact of environmental health projects.
Abstract
Many citizen science and environmental health projects assume that active participant involvement will automatically lead to policy change. In practice, this is often not the case, which can cause disappointment among volunteers and reduce their motivation. Based on our experience from several ongoing and past environmental health projects, we want to contribute to the discussion on how citizen science results can better inform policy. We argue that, besides involving diverse stakeholders throughout all research stages—from design and data collection to analysis and dissemination—appropriate digital tools also play a key role. Platforms for data access and analysis can help non-experts understand the issues, uncertainties, and interpretations. This understanding can motivate them to communicate findings more effectively to policymakers. We can share and demonstrate respective examples, and discuss both drivers and barriers related to this process.