Citizen science has become an important mode of research and innovation, in Europe and worldwide. It has gained recognition across policy, research funding organisations, scientists, civic society organisations, NGOs and those working in the interface of science and society. Today, citizen science associations, national and international citizen science platforms, conferences and funding programmes are key promoters of participatory forms of scientific knowledge production. However, citizen science is still limited in its uptake and acceptance across disciplines, actors and institutions. Its potential has not been fully exploited and we still see a lack of institutional embedding, funding structures and policy uptake.
The ECS project aims to build on the momentum and citizen science’s major success story within FP7 and Horizon 2020 funding schemes to integrate citizen science (cs) within current and future research and innovation efforts, making cs an integral part of the European Research Area (ERA) and positioning Europe as a leader in citizen science. The overall objective of ECS is to enlarge, empower and strengthen the European cs community through capacity building and awareness raising activities, such as setting up the ECS Academy and establishing a network of 28 ECS Ambassadors. The project activities aim to encompass the whole range of needs and challenges, i.e. inclusivity, open data, national and regional support, mainstreaming through disciplines and areas of the ERA, among others
