Delineating the contours of citizen science: Development of the ECSA characteristics of citizen science
The ECSA Characteristics were developed in a spirit of openness; identifying areas with diverse and even conflicting views was central to this practice. We recommend their use as a whole set and contend that no one area or characteristic is more important than the other. They should be considered as a toolkit with examples that can guide efforts towards defining citizen science for a specific context and purpose. They are built on the ECSA 10 Principles, addressing some of their gaps and limitations, while at the same time acknowledging the need to update and improve the 10 Principles based on developments in the field.
Authors
- Christian Nold
- Katrin Vohland
- Dilek Fraisl (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7523-7967)
- Teresa Schaefer
- Marzia Mazzonetto
- Prof Muki Haklay
- Lea Shanley
- Katherin Wagenknecht
- Simone Rüfenacht
- Barbara Kieslinger (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0671-1917)
- Monika Mačiulienė (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8527-7468)
- Margaret M. Gold (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4853-2463)
- Dorte Riemenschneider
- Maike Weißpflug
- Daniel Dörler (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2056-4084)
- Florian Heigl
- Susanne Hecker (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7398-5806)
- Linda See
- Alice Motion
- Gerid Hager
- Ariel B. Lindner
- Andrea Sforzi
- Bastian Greshake Tzovaras
- Sasha Woods
- Uta Wehn
- Luigi Ceccaroni
- Bálint Balázs
Institutions
- Leiden University (NL)
- Natural History Museum Vienna (AT)
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- The University of Sydney (AU)
- International Computer Science Institute (US)
- Museum für Naturkunde (DE)
- International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (AT)
- Inserm (FR)
- Kaunas University of Technology (LT)
- The Open University (GB)
- IHE Delft Institute for Water Education (NL)
- Transitional Learning Center (US)
- UNSW Sydney (AU)
- Sorbonne Université (FR)
- Earthwatch Europe (GB)
- Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management (DE)
- Dienst voor Wetenschappelijke en Technische Informatie (BE)
- Biologie Computationnelle, Quantitative et Synthétique (FR)
- Centre for Social Innovation (AT)
- Global Water Partnership West Africa (BF)
- University College London (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Open Research Europe
- Published
- 2026-03-09
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.12688/openreseurope.19411.3
- Primary Topic
- Species Distribution and Climate Change
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- European Commission
- HORIZON EUROPE Framework Programme