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Short Abstract

Drawing on the Horizon 2020 project INCENTIVE, this presentation introduces a participatory, non-intrusive framework for evaluating Citizen Science Hubs, showing how institutions can assess inclusiveness and impact while empowering citizens as active contributors.

Abstract

This presentation draws on findings from the Horizon 2020 project INCENTIVE, which established Citizen Science Hubs (CSHs) in four European Research Performing Organisations — the Universities of Twente, Barcelona, Thessaloniki, and Vilnius. By integrating Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) principles with non-intrusive impact assessment, INCENTIVE demonstrated how universities can develop and use CSHs as vehicles to promote accountable and inclusive citizen science within their regions. The presentation focuses on the activities conducted toward the end of the project to evaluate the Hubs’ performance and impact. A reflexive and participatory evaluation framework was designed to assess the social, institutional, and democratic outcomes of the Hubs’ activities without overburdening participants. The framework combined quantitative indicators, stakeholder interviews, and comparative benchmarking against global Citizen Science trends. A key feature of the process was the organisation of regular “Data Reflection and Fine-Tuning” meetings with citizen scientists and stakeholders, ensuring that evaluation remained inclusive, adaptive, and context-sensitive. The evaluation revealed valuable insights on gender equality, open science, and public engagement, while highlighting persistent barriers such as limited incentives for researchers and unequal citizen access to science. The presentation will discuss how impact can be meaningfully captured without reducing citizens to research subjects, but instead empowering and supporting them to sustain their engagement in Citizen Science. It will conclude with recommendations for developing inclusive, participatory, and transferable evaluation frameworks for universities and Citizen Science ecosystems.