Collect data
Measure and observe with sensors, kits or mobile apps: gamma radiation, artificial light at night, nitrates in water or soil health.
Citizen science
What it is, how to take part and where to find citizen science projects in Spain.
What is citizen science?
Citizen science is the participation of citizens in scientific research activities, to which they actively contribute with their intellectual effort, their knowledge of their surroundings or their own tools and resources.
— White Paper on Citizen Science for Europe (Socientize, 2014)
Citizen science brings together a wide network of people. Those who take part contribute data and resources to research, raise new questions and together build a new scientific culture. Along the way, they gain knowledge and skills and come to understand better how science works. This open, networked and transdisciplinary approach strengthens the relationship between science, society and policy, and encourages research that is more democratic and grounded in evidence and informed decision-making.
Citizen science covers as many fields as science itself: air and water quality, biodiversity, soils, light pollution, environmental radiation, health, the social sciences and the humanities, among many others.
What sets it apart from science communication is that participants do not just learn about science: they do science. Their observations, measurements, classifications or ideas become part of real research, whose results are published and shared.
Since 2011, Fundación Ibercivis has helped carry out more than 100 citizen science projects, involving more than 100,000 people.
Ways to take part
Analyse and classify
Review images or documents that algorithms struggle with: place night-time photos taken from the International Space Station on a map, or classify scientific publications.
Create your own project
Pose a research question, design how the data will be collected and launch the project with a community.
Citizen science in the classroom
Bring real projects into schools with teaching units and guides for teachers.
Citizen science in Spain
Citizen science in Spain has a track record of more than twenty years. These are some of the milestones Fundación Ibercivis has been part of:
- 2007Launch of Zivis, the first Spanish volunteer computing project, with CIEMAT’s National Fusion Laboratory and Zaragoza City Council.
- 2008Ibercivis is presented as a national volunteer computing platform (nuclear fusion, protein folding and materials simulation).
- 2010Participatory experiments beyond computing are added: human behaviour, environmental monitoring, social sciences and complex systems.
- 2011Ibercivis becomes a private non-profit foundation.
- 2012Socientize begins, the first European project (Seventh Framework Programme) on citizen science.
- 2013–2014Publication of the Green Paper and the White Paper on Citizen Science for Europe.
- 2016Launch of the Observatory of Citizen Science in Spain, in collaboration with FECYT and the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation.
- 2017The National Citizen Science Plan is drawn up with FECYT.
- 2022Strategy to promote citizen science in universities, with the Spanish Ministry of Universities.
- 2024Impactos-CC: the first national framework of impact indicators for citizen science.
- 2025RIECS: Ibercivis coordinates the design of a pan-European research infrastructure for citizen science.
- 2026Tenth anniversary of the Observatory of Citizen Science in Spain.
Find out more in History and Board of Trustees.
How to take part
Choose a project
Find one that interests you on ciencia-ciudadana.es, the Observatory of Citizen Science in Spain, or among Ibercivis projects.
Find out how to take part
Each project explains what you need: an app, a measurement kit, a few minutes at your computer or coming along to an activity.
Take part and share
Your data is combined with other people’s and published openly. Many projects share the results back with the community.
See the open projects in Get involved in our projects.
Resources
7 reports
Reports on citizen science in Spain
Observatory reports since 2016 and the final report of Impactos-CC.
See all →
37 units and guides
Teaching units
Units and guides for bringing citizen science into the classroom, from 2008 to the present day.
See all →Since 2007
Scientific publications
Articles, books, conference papers and theses on citizen science.
See all →
5 documents
Citizen science in Europe
The Green Paper, the White Paper and documents on citizen science in European policy.
See all →
78 projects
Projects
Ongoing projects and a timeline of completed projects since 2007.
See all →
Courses and workshops
Training
Training for organisations and individuals who want to get started in citizen science or take their knowledge further.
See all →Frequently asked questions
What is citizen science?
According to the White Paper on Citizen Science for Europe (Socientize, 2014), citizen science is the participation of citizens in scientific research activities, to which they actively contribute with their intellectual effort, their knowledge of their surroundings or their own tools and resources.
Who can take part in a citizen science project?
Anyone who is interested. There are projects for all ages, from schoolchildren to older people, and each one explains what you need to take part.
Do I need to know about science to take part?
No. Projects explain what needs to be done and how to do it, and many offer training, measurement protocols or support materials.
Is citizen science data reliable?
Projects use measurement protocols, instrument calibration, data validation and training for participants. The results are published in scientific journals and used in research and public policy.
How is it different from science communication?
Science communication shares science with people. In citizen science, citizens take part in the research itself: their observations, measurements or ideas become part of the results.
Where can I find citizen science projects in Spain?
On the Observatory of Citizen Science in Spain (ciencia-ciudadana.es), which brings together initiatives, resources and calls from across the country, and on Fundación Ibercivis’s projects page.