EOSC-CSN

The EOSC-CSN project develops the Project Charter for the EOSC Citizen Science thematic Node, establishing the governance, technical, and operational framework required for integration into the EOSC Federation. While citizen scientists are recognized as key stakeholders in European research policy, the current EOSC infrastructure relies on academic credentials like EduGAIN for resource access. This setup inadvertently excludes unaffiliated researchers. The new Citizen Science Node resolves this barrier, ensuring independent contributors can access EOSC resources as easily as institutional researchers.

This initiative is anchored in the Horizon Europe RIECS-Concept, which designs a Research Infrastructure for Excellent Citizen Science. To ensure long-term sustainability, key RIECS services, data repositories, and community standards must be integrated into EOSC. This allows the new node to federate various citizen science platforms into a single, EOSC-compatible framework. The goal is to bridge the gap between traditional research and citizen-generated data while maintaining strict FAIR compliance.

To achieve this, the workplan focuses on several core outputs that converge into the final Project Charter. The consortium will deliver a formal value proposition and map the Minimum Viable Node requirements to ensure strategic alignment with the EOSC Federation Handbook. Additional deliverables include a multi-level governance model tailored to the diverse citizen science community and a technical roadmap for integrating RIECS core services. The project will also produce a training matrix designed specifically for unaffiliated researchers, alongside a showcase event plan to demonstrate how citizen science initiatives can operate successfully within the broader EOSC ecosystem.

The EOSC-CSN project directly supports EU Open Science policy and the European Research Area by integrating civic participation into formal research. Establishing this thematic Node removes technical barriers for non-traditional researchers and ensures that citizen-generated data is treated as a core scientific asset. Sharing this infrastructure resolves access issues for independent contributors and mitigates the chronic instability of short-term funding often associated with citizen science.

This framework delivers practical advantages across the research ecosystem. Professional researchers gain access to high-quality, validated data streams that were previously fragmented or entirely inaccessible. Concurrently, citizen science organizations and NGOs achieve greater digital sovereignty through access to institutional-grade tools, including secure storage, persistent identifiers, and robust authentication systems. By supporting unaffiliated civic communities, the EOSC Federation successfully expands its user base beyond traditional academia.

Ultimately, the project eliminates the structural silos separating civic society from formal research environments. By developing a roadmap for the RIECS-Validator tool, the initiative sets a clear European benchmark for data quality that fosters trust in non-traditional sources. This structured approach positions Europe as a global leader in participatory open science, ensuring a reliable, bidirectional flow of knowledge between the public and professional scientists.

The sustainability of EOSC-CSN is secured through its integration into a long-term institutional and political roadmap. The Project Charter serves as the technical and governance foundation for future expansion. As a strategic pilot for the RIECS-Concept, the node aligns with EOSC early on to ensure that any future pan-European research infrastructure for citizen science is fully integrated into the broader scientific landscape.

To anchor the project institutionally, the consortium leverages its direct ties with the European Citizen Science Association. This connection ensures the Project Charter is promoted across the network to gather support from other European organizations. Furthermore, the charter will function as a blueprint for citizen engagement, providing structural support to other EOSC Nodes that wish to incorporate citizen science methodologies into their own operations.

By proving that unaffiliated researchers and smaller projects can successfully navigate EOSC resources, the initiative provides a scalable model for inclusion in open science. This bottom-up approach is reinforced by high-level political support, specifically through strong ties to the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities. To formalize this backing, the consortium is actively pursuing letters of intent from ministries in Spain, Italy, and the Netherlands to secure official institutional support for the node’s future enrollment.