H2020 WeObserve project kickoff meeting

Background

The last decade has seen a rise in citizen science and crowdsourcing initiatives for environmental monitoring. In the EU, efforts have been channeled into developing Citizen Observatories (COs), which have been supported by the Seventh Framework Program (FP7) and continue to be funded under Horizon 2020 (H2020). COs are a means by which communities can monitor and report on their environment and access information that is easily understandable for decision making. Among these COs is the IIASA-led LandSense initiative, focused on delivering a modern citizen-driven platform for land use and land cover monitoring. To consolidate ongoing citizen science efforts, the WeObserve project aims to bring together the current set of European H2020 COs, enabling improved coordination between them and promoting their related activities at regional, European, and international levels. WeObserve will coordinate the delivery of needed CO knowledge to avoid duplication, share best practices, and identify barriers and synergies. This framework will also promote standards to ensure interoperability, maximize impact, and facilitate uptake by environmental authorities.

We Observe is coordinated by IIASA and funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under grant agreement No. 776740