INCENTIVE

Citizen Science is a growing field where researchers, civil society and citizens come together to participate in scientific research. The European Commission granted 1,5M Euro to a pan-European consortium brought together by UT's DesignLab in the project INCENTIVE. The project started in February 2021.

Full project name

Establishing Citizen Science Hubs in European Research Performing and Funding Organisations to drive institutional change and ground Responsible Research and Innovation in society (INCENTIVE)

Goals

  1. Bring citizens, public administration and private sector closer to the research community;
  2. Demonstrate the potential of citizen science through the co-creation, establishment and assessment of Citizen Science Hubs in the participating universities throughout Europe including UT, ECIU partner Autonomous University of Barcelona, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and Vilnius Gediminas Technical University;
  3. Provide practices, methods, and tools that will navigate and support other research institutions across Europe to create and operate their own Citizen Science Hubs.

The need for Citizen Science

Both at the national and the international level, more and more people recognise the need to design and carry out responsible research and innovation (RRI). Citizen Science can contribute to this. With Citizen Science as one of its focus areas and as official ECSA member, DesignLab is set on empowering European universities through this project to establish sustainable transdisciplinary hubs for stimulating and supporting excellent citizen science. UT's own Citizen Science Hub was launched during the Citizen Science Conference on 20 November 2020 by Thom Palstra, in his last days as Rector Magnificus.

Sabine Wildevuur,, project coordinator INCENTIVE and director DesignLab

Citizen Science requires new approaches and methods for science education and research, but also for successful collaboration with the public and private organisations

Sabine Wildevuur,, project coordinator INCENTIVE and director DesignLab

Partners

The three-year project is carried out by a consortium of 9 partners throughout Europe with DesignLab as project coordinator. The Rector’s offices of the four participating universities have expressed their support. In addition to DesignLab, TechMed Centre and the BMS faculty also contribute, as well as many regional-based authorities, NGOs and interest groups. For the Netherlands these are Twentse Noabers, Region Twente, CitizenLab Leiden, Foundation Mijn Data Onze Gezondheid, and Stimuland. Click the links below to visit the website of the partners.

More information

Visit the website to read the latest news about project INCENTIVE on a European scale. If you have any questions, please reach out to Maya van den Berg, programme manager at DesignLab.

dr. M.M. van den Berg (Maya)
Program Manager