CROPS: changing the scale of citizen science towards the transnational level

Citizen science has become a proven method across a range of scientific disciplines, able to collect new and complementary data which enhances and adds context to existing scientific methods. By upscaling to a transnational level, citizen science could collect, analyse and exploit a vast amount of data across Europe and beyond, achieving a higher impact through creating a multinational community of citizen scientists. However, many citizen science initiatives start at a small-scale, facing technical and practical challenges when attempting to upscale to a wider level, with current EU mechanisms not providing the support or resources required to assist their effort. The CROPS project (crops-cs.eu) will evolve the EU Research & Innovation system so that it can support the transition of citizen science from small-scale to a Europe-wide level, changing it towards a modern, open-science approach. CROPS consists of four activities: (i) appraisal of existing citizen science, their activities and their suitability for upscaling; (ii) creation of protocols and guidance for the upscaling of citizen science, replicating and building on best practice that exists; (iii) providing guidance regarding practical considerations such as open data sharing, sustainability, RRI and diverse funding opportunities; and (iv) development of transnational citizen science communities, including establishing societal coalitions and prospective citizen science champions to raise awareness of the potential of citizen science when addressing Horizon Europe EU Mission goals.