ECIU Network

Citizen Science

THE SMART-ER TRANS-NATIONAL PILOTS IN CITIZEN SCIENCE

During Q2-2022, ECIU University will support the development of at least 2 pilot projects focused on Citizen Science, for a maximum length of 18 months. These pilots will receive funding by ECIU for activities related to Citizen Science actions. 

The context of these pilots will be widely focused on SDG11, and they are expected to serve as a way of putting together the ECIU’s Community, promoting the collaboration between ECIU members in a Citizen-centric approach to knowledge generation. 

The pilots can also be viewed as an excellent opportunity to spark the consolidation of strong consortia and align strategies for applying to further funding, A Series of Webinars will be the first step to put this Community of researchers in contact.  

List of Pilots

The  SMART-ER Pilots in Citizen Science were drafted by the ECIU Community of Citizen Science in a co-creation process during the 3 first weeks of February 2022. Then, a process was developed for 2 months to in co-desing process. The projects are now in their initial stage, to be officially presented in Q4 2022. The 3 Pilots will develop their activities during 2023, presenting their results during the SMART-ER Conference in September 2023.

Pilot 1

Establishing a Community on Empowering, Inclusive, and Equitable Citizen Science within ECIU (ECIE)
Know more

Pilot 2

Empowering urban cyclists through citizen science (BICIZEN)
Know more

Pilot 3

Citizen Arenas for improved environmental and resource user in smart cities (CARE)
Know more

To whom are the Pilots addressed?

Researchers and practitioners of Citizen Science within the ECIU Community, interested in participating in a joint trans-national Pilot with other ECIU researchers. 

Is it compulsory to have an ongoing project on Citizen Science? 

No, researchers are both welcome either if they have a long experience in Citizen Science or if they have no expertise yet, but are genuinely interested in developing the Citizen Science dimension, independently on whether they have an ongoing granted project or not. Though, if you have an ongoing project with a Citizen Science dimension, SMART-ER can contribute to your activities with extra funding. 

How will the Pilots be designed? 

Through a co-creation process open to all the ECIU researchers, starting with an online workshop taking place the 3rd of February 2022. 

Why to participate in the workshop? 

This is a unique opportunity for the researchers of the ECIU universities to:  

  • Obtain funding for Citizen Science-related activities through the SMART-ER project.
  • Identify potential international partners within the ECIU consortium to carry out a trans-national joint project.
  • Create powerful consortia for applying to Horizon Europe and/or other international funding grants through a joint Citizen Science Project.

What will happen during the workshop? 

The main objective of the workshop is to draft at least 2 pilots in a co-creation process with all the participants. The event will be divided into 3 different parts: 

  1. At the beginning of the workshop, all the participants will join an informative session for the explanation of the main context of the SMART-ER project including:
  2. The overall objectives of SMART-ER and the role of Citizen Science.
  3. The general objectives expected to achieve with the SMART-ER Pilots in Citizen Science.
  4. The specific conditions, timing and process for receiving funding for a Citizen Science Pilot. 
  5. A mapping of potential sources of funding through strategic calls, including Horizon Europe and other, and a selection of the relevant documentation.
  6. Once the context is provided, the participants will have the chance to share ideas and capabilities through short pitches, with the aim of identifying main interests and lines of work with potential priority.
  7. Finally, the participants will be distributed in break-out rooms around specific topics to discuss potential alliances. These discussions will be facilitated by SMART-ER staff with the objective of drafting an initial document describing the pilot. The topics will initially include, but will not be necessarily restricted to: Biodiversity, Sustainability, Social Inclusion, Culture and Cultural Heritage, among others.

Which will be the criteria expected for a Pilot to be successfully funded by SMART-ER? 

As will be explained during the workshop, general criteria related to scientific excellence, social impact and quality of implementation -as in the context of Horizon Europe applications- will provide the general bases for assessment, but specific elements will be taken in consideration such as:  

  • The relevance of the Citizen Science dimension. 
  • The response to regional and global challenges from the proposed pilots. 
  • The comprehensive development through the Pilot of a joint trans-national narrative, beyond a mere aggregation of regionally independent actions. 
  • The sound involvement of the 4-helix actors in the projects. 
  • The analysis of the gender dimension. 

Which are the figures? 

  • A minimum of 4 ECIU partners in the Pilot, though consortiums larger than 4 partners are expected.
  • Funding available for Citizen Science Pilots: 360.000€ 
  • Reference maximum funding for one pilot: 180.000€ 
  • Type of funding:   
    • Lump Sum, 100% funding received through each University: 
    • 10%-20% for the Pilot coordinator University 
    • 90%-80% for each partner University (approx). 
  • The Pilots will have to start on: Q2 2022. 
  • The Pilots will have to be concluded compulsory by 31st September 2023. 
  • The Pilot’s length should be:  
    • No shorter than 12 months (orientative) 
    • No longer than 18 months (compulsory)

There will be a lot of paperwork? 

  • No. Not in the design phase (workshop) and not in the implementation phase (if your pilot is granted).  If you participate in one of the pilots, no financial report will be needed, and all the funding will be granted to you through your own University. However, a technical report on the research results will be requested, and support will be provided for the follow-up of the pilot and for the creation of dissemination materials.  

WORKSHOP REGISTRATION:  

If you are interested in attending to the workshop for the co-preparation of the Pilots, please, register before 3rd February 2022 through this link.  

You will receive further instructions, including documentation and templates. 

WHERE CAN I HAVE MORE INFORMATION? 

For any further question or comment you can contact the following email address:

citizen.science@uab.cat. 

You can have a comprehensive collection of Citizen Science Projects in the ECIU Webpage for Citizen Science Webinars:

https://www.eciu.org/for-researchers/webinars 

ECIU

European Consortium of Innovative Universities (ECIU) is the leading international network of research intensive universities, with collective emphasis on innovation, creativity and societal impact.

ECIU University

The ECIU University is an EU-funded initiative of the alliance of 12 universities in the ECIU that creates a ground-breaking and innovative educational model on a European scale.

SMART-ER Project

The SMART-ER project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 101016888.

The ECIU’s SMART-ER Community of Citizen Science is coordinated through our team at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.

Contact: For any further comment or question you can contact us at citizen.science@uab.cat

 

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