IMPETUS

IMPETUS is a Citizen Science project, funded by the European Commission with a focus on diversity, impact and inclusion, which will fund and support established and new citizen science initiatives. The aim is to make these initiatives more participatory and thus have a greater impact.

Through IMPETUS, the “European Union Prize for Citizen Science” will be awarded to recognise outstanding citizen science projects and their contribution to science and society.

In addition, a way of working promoted by the project will be implemented: applying diversity, inclusion and participation, especially by giving citizens a voice in selecting the challenges they care about and rewarding the projects that have the most impact on their lives.

Citizen science is playing an increasingly important role in how science and the innovation sector engage with society and how they contribute to solving common challenges. With millions of scientific volunteers in many countries and fields, European citizen science has gained momentum and is now at a turning point that will determine its future growth and impact.

Existing funding schemes are not always adapted to the realities of citizen science, especially for smaller initiatives or for collaborations spanning different fields. Addressing these challenges across Europe requires an agile and scalable approach to research and innovation, supported by tools and practices, and a committed and interdisciplinary team, embedded in relevant networks and ecosystems.

This is what IMPETUS aims to do: to create an innovation programme that will address four key objectives: (i) To open up funding streams for a wide range of citizen science projects. (ii) Strengthen the link between society and science, (iii) Recognise the role of citizen science in Europe (iv) Enhance the contribution of civil society to the achievement of Europe’s grand bargains and the targets of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Funding of citizen science initiatives through 3 open calls. 20,000 to launch 100 initiatives and €10,000 to sustain 25 initiatives addressing urgent needs of European society.
Creation of an accelerator to provide funded initiatives with an integrated programme of support, training, mentoring and resources.
Launch of the EU Citizen Science Prize.
Development of tools for impact assessment and evaluation of the outcome of initiatives, especially on Green Deal and SDG targets.

At SfC we are leading the accelerator, drawing on our extensive experience in bringing citizen science together with other stakeholders in the quadruple helix. We will offer a tailored, modern and inclusive programme of support, training and advice from expert practitioners, as well as co-design and engagement activities.