CitiMeasure
Using citizen measurements to create smart, sustainable, and inclusive cities
Latest News
Learning about air quality at an early age
As with many other European cities, the capital of the Czech Republic, Prague, is facing air quality problems. But now, residents and students can measure the air quality around them. The civic group Senzorvzduchu, z.s. (in English, ‘Air Sensor’) develops and gives...
Challenges
Establishing a successful, sustainable citizen science initiative with relevance for society, science and policy is a challenging task. CitiMeasure focuses on three specific challenges:
Comparability and interoperability
Data can be gathered by multiple stakeholders (e.g., researchers, businesses, public administrations, or by citizens via citizen science initiatives), and at different levels (local, regional, national, etc.). Therefore, data comparability and interoperability are essential for exploring the full potential of citizen science initiatives. This is a challenge because guidance and frameworks that would allow greater comparability are missing.
Changing behaviours and impacting policies
Citizen science can underpin environmental policies, support policymaking, and prompt behavioural change. However, there are many barriers for the use of citizen science data for behaviour and policy change. More efforts thus need to be addressed at breaching this gap, supporting fit-for-purpose approaches as well as appropriately measuring these impacts.
Addressing the digital divide
There is a digital divide in citizen science, i.e., there are differences in motivation, physical access to technology, digital skills, and usage patterns. Enhancing the digital inclusion of citizen science initiatives is thus key for their legitimacy and representativeness.
Working groups
CitiMeasure follows a co-creation and collaborative approach and has established four working groups to develop and test three instruments with the aims of improving comparability of air quality monitoring initiatives, fostering behaviour and policy change outcomes of citizen science, and reducing digital divide in citizen measurement initiatives. From May to December 2022, the prototype instruments will be piloted. The CitiMeasure pilots and working groups collaborate to collect and use feedbacks form the pilot cases and use those feedbacks to improve and consolidate the CitiMeasure instruments.
The development of the CitiMeasure European Knowledge Centre is an ongoing process, and its content will be gradually updated. Make sure to visit us again!
Strategy and oversight WG
This working group oversees the development of the instruments, implementation of the pilots and ongoing development of the Knowledge Centre by identifying linkages between the instruments being developed, sharing good practices and new information, ensuring connections with external stakeholders, and being advocates for citizen science and CitiMeasure.
Comparability WG
The CitiMeasure Comparability WG aims to facilitate information sharing across different cities and organizations involved in air quality monitoring by creating an inventory of air quality monitoring activities and approaches. This inventory will be developed as an interactive tool that can be updated and maintained by the users and will inform citizen science initiatives and city officials on what sensors to use to ensure comparability with existing observations.
Behaviour & Policy WG
This working group works towards increased understanding of the changes in behaviour of different stakeholder groups, as well as decision and policy making processes. This includes changes in trust, participation behaviour, new culture of collaboration, sharing responsibilities, as well as established decision and policy making processes.
Digital inclusion WG
This working group works towards advancing the understanding of the issue of ‘competencies’ for digital inclusion. This includes both unpacking competencies required by citizens to participate in citizen science initiatives, as well as those of policy makers, decision makers and municipal employees to engage citizens in such initiatives.
Who is part of the CitiMeasure working groups?
Knowledge centre
The project will create an online European Knowledge Centre with a repository of good practices as well as the co-created instruments, user-guidelines, and training material.
Instruments, guidelines and training
Public deliverables
News
Find all the updates, events, and news about the CitiMeasure project in this section!
Learning about air quality at an early age
As with many other European cities, the capital of the Czech Republic, Prague, is facing air quality problems. But now, residents and students can measure the air quality around them. The civic group Senzorvzduchu, z.s. (in English, ‘Air Sensor’) develops and gives...
Odour sensing – citizen science shaping EU policies and regulations
During the Engaging Citizen Science Conference in Aarhus, Denmark, in April 2022, the SensJus project discovered how citizen science can steer environmental regulation.
Testing new guidelines and tools for citizen science
Our partners have developed new guidelines and tools for fostering behavioural and policy change, and digital inclusion within citizen science initiatives. They are now putting them to the test.
Give citizen science what it deserves
Still looked down upon by the scientific community and administrations alike, citizen science is seeking recognition as a valuable tool for policy making.
CitiMeasure
Using citizen measurements to create smart, sustainable, and inclusive cities
Latest News
Learning about air quality at an early age
As with many other European cities, the capital of the Czech Republic, Prague, is facing air quality problems. But now, residents and students can measure the air quality around them. The civic group Senzorvzduchu, z.s. (in English, ‘Air Sensor’) develops and gives...
Challenges
Establishing a successful, sustainable citizen science initiative with relevance for society, science and policy is a challenging task. CitiMeasure focuses on three specific challenges:
Comparability and interoperability
Data can be gathered by multiple stakeholders (e.g., researchers, businesses, public administrations, or by citizens via citizen science initiatives), and at different levels (local, regional, national, etc.). Therefore, data comparability and interoperability are essential for exploring the full potential of citizen science initiatives. This is a challenge because guidance and frameworks that would allow greater comparability are missing.
Changing behaviours and impacting policies
Citizen science can underpin environmental policies, support policymaking, and prompt behavioural change. However, there are many barriers for the use of citizen science data for behaviour and policy change. More efforts thus need to be addressed at breaching this gap, supporting fit-for-purpose approaches as well as appropriately measuring these impacts.
Addressing the digital divide
There is a digital divide in citizen science, i.e., there are differences in motivation, physical access to technology, digital skills, and usage patterns. Enhancing the digital inclusion of citizen science initiatives is thus key for their legitimacy and representativeness.
Working groups
This working group oversees the development of the instruments, implementation of the pilots and ongoing development of the Knowledge Centre by identifying linkages between the instruments being developed, sharing good practices and new information, ensuring connections with external stakeholders, and being advocates for citizen science and CitiMeasure.
The development of the CitiMeasure European Knowledge Centre is an ongoing process, and its content will be gradually updated. Make sure to visit us again!
Strategy and oversight WG
This WG focuses on providing strategic direction and ensuring cohesion of activities across the three Instrument Sub-Groups, and the project in general.
Digital inclusion WG
this working group works towards advancing the understanding of the issue of ‘competencies’ for digital inclusion. This includes both unpacking competencies required by citizens to participate in citizen science initiatives, as well as those of policy makers, decision makers and municipal employees to engage citizens in such initiatives.
Behaviour & Policy WG
this working group works towards increased understanding of the changes in behaviour of different stakeholder groups, as well as decision and policy making processes. This includes changes in trust, participation behaviour, new culture of collaboration, sharing responsibilities, as well as established decision and policy making processes.
Comparability WG
this working group investigates and compares existing technical (data) and interoperability standards that supports the gauging of consumer grade air quality sensors to reference sensors of (regional national, and municipal) authorities. The aim is to develop a basic guideline that informs citizens and city officials on what sensors to use to ensure the comparability of data with other citizen science initiatives, as well as with official observations.
Who is part of the CitiMeasure working groups?
Knowledge centre
The project will create an online European Knowledge Centre with a repository of good practices as well as the co-created instruments, user-guidelines, and training material.
Instruments, guidelines and training
The project will produce three co-created instruments together with user guidelines and training material that will be available online in 2022.
Public deliverables
This sub-section will include all the public deliverables of the CitiMeasure project.
News
Find all the updates, events, and news about the CitiMeasure project in this section!
Learning about air quality at an early age
As with many other European cities, the capital of the Czech Republic, Prague, is facing air quality problems. But now, residents and students can measure the air quality around them. The civic group Senzorvzduchu, z.s. (in English, ‘Air Sensor’) develops and gives...
Odour sensing – citizen science shaping EU policies and regulations
During the Engaging Citizen Science Conference in Aarhus, Denmark, in April 2022, the SensJus project discovered how citizen science can steer environmental regulation.
Testing new guidelines and tools for citizen science
Our partners have developed new guidelines and tools for fostering behavioural and policy change, and digital inclusion within citizen science initiatives. They are now putting them to the test.
Give citizen science what it deserves
Still looked down upon by the scientific community and administrations alike, citizen science is seeking recognition as a valuable tool for policy making.