The Backbone of Participatory Science: Reframing Citizen Observatories as Research Infrastructures

19 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables.-- Data Availability Statement: No new data were created or analyzed in this study. Data sharing is not applicable to this article.

Citizen observatories (COs) have emerged as essential research infrastructures for participatory science, supporting data collection and community engagement. They enable communities to monitor their environments, actively track indicators aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and contribute valuable data to scientific research and evidence-based, informed policy-making. Despite their growing importance, COs remain conceptually fluid, with varying interpretations across disciplines and contexts. This paper examines the evolution of COs from their origins in the early 2010s to their current multifaceted roles, revealing three key dimensions: descriptively as socio-technical systems, instrumentally as research infrastructures, and normatively as advanced participatory science initiatives. We specifically highlight the critical role of COs as research infrastructures and propose a set of essential functions and characteristics. These functions range from providing technical capabilities for data collection and quality assurance to social dimensions, including community building and governance frameworks. Additionally, our analysis identifies two operational models: tailored COs designed for specific projects and open COs supporting multiple initiatives. Reframing COs as research infrastructures rather than isolated initiatives emphasizes the need for long-term institutional support, shared services, and coordinated policies to ensure their sustainability and maximize their contribution to both scientific knowledge and public participation, ultimately strengthening the foundations of participatory science

The EMBIMOS research group (Karen Soacha-Godoy, Jaume Piera) was funded by the European Commission through the GUARDEN project funded from the European Union’s Horizon Europe program under grant agreements No. 101060693. EMBIMOS, as well as Fermín Serrano, were also funded by the RIECS-Concept project, supported by the European Union’s Horizon Europe Research and Innovation program under grant agreement No. 101188210. The ICM-CSIC authors acknowledge the institutional support of the ‘Severo Ochoa Center of Excellence’ accreditation (CEX2019-000928-S and CEX2024-001494-S funded by AEI 10.13039/501100011033)

Peer reviewed