The first IMPETUS call, the citizen science innovation project, has been launched

IMPETUS is a Horizon Europe-funded project that will support and recognise citizen science innovation in Europe. It opened its first IMPETUS call on 10 January, looking for innovative and creative projects focusing on the themes of Healthy Planet and Cities for Life.

This is an exciting opportunity for all those involved in citizen science. It is the first time that a project is offering funding, mentoring, and training resources to citizen science projects that aim to address societal challenges related to the Sustainable Development Goals and the Green Deal.

Details about the first IMPETUS call

The first part of this call is for the Accelerator Programme. IMPETUS is looking for new or ongoing citizen science projects to be awarded start-up or maintenance grants.

Successful applicants will receive €20,000 (for new projects) or €10,000 (for ongoing projects) to help carry out a six-month citizen science project with the support of IMPETUS.

All teams will have access to a set of services tailored to their individual needs including intensive training, online mentoring, advocacy, peer-to-peer learning, and networking.

European Union Prize for Citizen Science

This is also the debut of the new European Union Prize for Citizen Science, which aims to reward outstanding citizen science initiatives. With a Grand Prize of €60,000, as well as two additional prizes for projects demonstrating exemplary Diversity and Collaboration and Digital Communities, both worth €20,000.

The call is open to individuals, legal entities, and consortia established in a country or territory eligible for Horizon Europe grants.

This call will be open for two months from 10 January and will close at 12:00 CET on 13 March 2023.

More details about IMPETUS

It is a four-year project that brings together seven European partners with the aim of working together towards more accessible funding schemes for the development of citizen science. It is led by Zabala Innovation and King’s College London, with the collaboration of Ars Electronica, T6 Ecosystems, EUSEA, Science for Change, and Nesta.

IMPETUS will pay particular attention to recognising the role of Citizen Science in addressing the biggest challenges of our time, so there will be a strong focus on consideration of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Green Deal.

Through an energetic approach, the team will organise three calls that will launch citizen science initiatives with expected impacts on volunteer engagement, equity, diversity and inclusiveness, openness, and data quality.

Another highlight of the IMPETUS approach is the creation of an accelerator, which will provide funded initiatives with an integrated programme of support, training, mentoring, and resources. The accelerator will facilitate peer-to-peer learning, enable citizen science initiatives to contribute to the SDGs and build connections with stakeholders.

Within this supportive landscape, IMPETUS aims to shape EU policy in and with citizen science, through horizon scanning, anticipatory policy, and action research, informing policy briefs, webinars, and workshops with key policy stakeholders.

The aim is to foster more data on the information society to inform evidence-based policy and identify future directions for information society policy.

Citizen science Innovation

The European Commission shares a broad definition, according to which citizen science “encompasses a range of levels of engagement: from being better informed about science, to participating in the scientific process itself by observing, collecting or processing data”.

Citizen science is indeed one of the most interesting participatory approaches that have been developed in the field of public engagement. It is the approach that puts the practice of science itself in the spotlight. For more information and a wealth of examples or ongoing projects, you can look at the European Citizen Science Platform.