History and Board of Trustees
Ibercivis is a leading foundation in the use of citizen science methodologies in Spain and Europe.
Based in Zaragoza (Spain), it has become a meeting point for citizen and scientific communities and for institutions that want to help advance scientific knowledge in an open and inclusive way. With a strong international outlook, Ibercivis develops, promotes and studies projects that further its vision of a more participatory and democratic science.
History of the Foundation
Ibercivis began as a BOINC-based distributed computing platform that allowed internet users to take part in scientific projects by donating computing cycles, which were used to run simulations and other scientific tasks. The tasks for the different projects were designed at scientific and technological centres across Spain.
The predecessor of the Ibercivis platform, the Zivis Project, started in 2007. Zivis was a pioneering distributed computing project in Spain, carried out in collaboration with CIEMAT’s National Fusion Laboratory and Zaragoza City Council.
Ibercivis was officially launched as a distributed computing platform on 20 June 2008 in Madrid (RTVE news report). The first three Ibercivis projects focused on nuclear fusion, protein folding and materials simulation.
Ibercivis then began to broaden its activity, taking on a wide range of methodologies, and was established as a foundation at the CSIC headquarters in Madrid on 14 November 2011.
The founding members of Fundación Ibercivis were the University of Zaragoza, CIEMAT, the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), the Government of Aragon, Fundación Zaragoza Ciudad del Conocimiento (ZCC), Fundación Ikerbasque, the public business entity Red.es and the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness.
Ibercivis continues to lead, promote and support citizen science projects across many fields of knowledge, working with a wide range of people and organisations at local, national and international level.
We also work with public administrations to set goals and draw up roadmaps that bring citizen science into universities, research institutes, local institutions and the media and science communication, presenting it as a toolkit of methods and methodologies that bring citizens closer to the country’s scientific development.
Milestones, projects and key events
2006–2012
2006
Desktop Grid
Ibercivis begins as a computing project using the Desktop Grid paradigm
2007
Zivis
Zivis is launched, the first Spanish volunteer computing project
2008
Ibercivis
Zivis becomes Ibercivis, a national volunteer computing project. Three projects are run: nuclear fusion, protein folding and materials simulation
2009
Multi-server BOINC
An agreement is signed with the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education, the Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology of the University of Coimbra and the Laboratório de Instrumentação e Física Experimental de Partículas (LIP) in Portugal to add new applications to Ibercivis
2010
Participatory experiments
The participatory experiments paradigm is added, going beyond volunteer computing: human behaviour, environmental monitoring, social sciences and complex systems
2011
Foundation
Ibercivis is officially established as a private non-profit foundation
2012
Socientize
The Socientize project starts: the first European (FP7) project on citizen science. New participatory experiments are added
2013–2019
2013 y 2014
Green Paper and White Paper
The Green Paper on Citizen Science is published in 2013.
Collective intelligence experiments. The White Paper on Citizen Science for Europe is published in 2014.
2015
CESAR Open Innovation Labs
CESAR Citizen Labs at Etopia Centre for Art and Technology, launched by the University of Zaragoza, the BIFI University Research Institute, Fundación Ibercivis, Zaragoza City Council and Fundación Zaragoza Ciudad del Conocimiento
2016
Citizen science observatory
First CESAR-Etopia open call. Launch of the Observatory of Citizen Science in Spain in collaboration with FECYT and the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation
2017
National citizen science plan
The National Citizen Science Plan is developed together with FECYT and the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation
2018
Promoting citizen science in Spain
Promotion of citizen science with FECYT and the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation
First Ibercivis call for citizen science projects.
Tercer Milenio-Heraldo ‘Science and Society’ Award
FECYT projects: OdourCollect, CanSat
H2020 project: D-NOSES
ERASMUS+ project: BRITEC
2019
First international citizen science forum
First International Citizen Science Forum, co-organised with FECYT and the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation
Zaragoza Citizen Science Observatory in collaboration with Zaragoza City Council
Second Ibercivis call for citizen science projects
FECYT projects: Vigilantes del aire, Cities At Night, Cansat, Make it Special
H2020 project: EU-Citizen.Science
2020–2026
2020
Covid-Phym
FECYT projects: Pájaros en la nube, Vigilantes del aire II, Desafío bajo Zero, Make it Special II
COVID-PHYM project with CSIC
H2020 project: NEWSERA
2021
Citizen science in the humanities and social sciences
First national meeting on citizen science in the humanities and social sciences
FECYT projects: Interfungi, Servet
H2020 projects: COESO, DECIDO
2022
Citizen science at university
Strategy to promote citizen science with the Spanish Ministry of Universities
Identidades Comunes II
FECYT projects: InterFungi, AulaCheck, Servet, FUENAragon, Flebocollect
H2020 project: Socio-BEE
Horizon Europe project: ECS
2023
Adapting to climate change
New national and European projects to tackle the challenges of climate change. FECYT projects: AulaCheck+, Servet IX and X, Impactos CC, Vigilantes del Suelo. Other national projects: RadoHow, Flood2Now. Horizon Europe projects: Dilan, Greengage, Echo, Agora
2024
A pan-European citizen science infrastructure
European projects: Agora, Atrium, Dilan, ECHO, ECS, Greengage, ProCOAST, Plan B, RIECS, Sociobee. National projects: AmIAire, Flood2now, ImpactosCC, MásAulacheck, Openred.
2025
From air to soil: citizen science projects
European projects: Agora, Atrium, ECHO, Dilan, ECS Platform, Greengage, Just-Safe, Life-Nitrazens, Plan-B, Procoast, RIECS. National projects: AmIAire, Desenredados, Flood2now, Openred
2026
Technological innovation in citizen science
European projects: Atrium, Echo, ECS, Just-Safe, Life-Nitrazens, SLDAR, Orion, Plan-B, Procoast, RIECS. National projects: AmIAire2, Openred, First National Citizen Science Congress. Tenth anniversary of the Observatory of Citizen Science in Spain and a new visual identity. The Openred platform for mapping light pollution and gamma radiation. Redesign and new features in Geonity, the app for citizen science projects.
Board of Trustees
The Board of Trustees of Fundación Ibercivis is made up of the University of Zaragoza, CSIC, CIEMAT, the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities and the Government of Aragon. Since the Foundation was established, the Chair of the Board has been the Rector of the University of Zaragoza. The rectors who have chaired the Board to date are Felipe Pétriz, the late Manuel López, José Antonio Mayoral and, currently, Rosa Bolea Bailo.
