Towards a connected Europe: RIECS-Concept and the future of citizen science for biodiversity

Citizen science (CS) has become an important contributor to biodiversity research, expanding the spatial and temporal coverage of observations and strengthening the interface between science, policy, and society. Millions of biodiversity records collected by volunteers now complement formal monitoring systems, support conservation assessments, and feed into national and international reporting processes. Despite these achievements, the European citizen science landscape remains highly fragmented. Numerous local, regional, and national platforms exist, yet they operate with different standards, tools, and data models. This fragmentation limits data interoperability, hinders cross-border collaboration, and reduces the overall impact and visibility of citizen-generated biodiversity information. At the same time, the contributions of non-professional observers, who form the backbone of many biodiversity datasets, often remain insufficiently acknowledged.

The EU-funded RIECS-Concept project (Research Infrastructure for Excellent Citizen Science) aims to address these gaps by designing the first European research infrastructure dedicated to citizen science across disciplines, with biodiversity as a key use case. RIECS-Concept explores how citizen-generated biodiversity data can be better connected to scientific databases, monitoring networks, and policy-relevant platforms. Guided by the FAIR data principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) and the broader open science agenda, the project investigates how to improve data accessibility, interoperability and long-term usability.

A central element of RIECS-Concept is its co-design process, involving citizen science networks, researchers, NGOs, educational systems, research infrastructures, policymakers, and citizen science participants themselves from across Europe. Engaging these stakeholders will enable the project to identify the technical requirements, governance models, and ethical frameworks needed for an inclusive and trustworthy infrastructure. This includes exploring how tools used by citizens (e.g., smartphones, apps, or web platforms) can interface with scientific repositories, how data quality and validation can be supported, and how contributors can be properly recognized.

We will present a first synthesis of the results of the first European co-design phase and propose first solutions on integrating tools, data flows, and diverse actors to create a connected and participatory European infrastructure, supporting citizen science in biodiversity.