Biodi e si y In o ma ion Science and S anda ds 9: e179170
doi: 10.3897/biss.9.179170
Con e ence Abs ac
A New Pla o m o Build and Suppo Ci izen
Science P ojec s in Biodi e si y
And ea Ta allo , Albe o Basse , F ancesco Cozzoli , F ancesco De Leo , Da ide Raho ,
Ila ia Rosa i
‡ Na ional Resea ch Council o I aly (CNR), Ins i u e o Resea ch on Te es ial Ecosys ems (IRET), Lecce, I aly
§ Uni e si y o Salen o, Depa men o Biological and En i onmen al Sciences and Technologies, Lecce, I aly
| Li eWa ch ERIC Se ice Cen e, Lecce, I aly
¶ NBFC, Na ional Biodi e si y Fu u e Cen e , Pale mo, I aly
# Li eWa ch I aly, Lecce, I aly
Co esponding au ho : And ea Ta allo (and ea. a allo@cn .i )
Recei ed: 20 No 2025 | Published: 24 No 2025
Ci a ion: Ta allo A, Basse A, Cozzoli F, De Leo F, Raho D, Rosa i I (2025) A New Pla o m o Build and Suppo
Ci izen Science P ojec s in Biodi e si y. Biodi e si y In o ma ion Science and S anda ds 9: e179170.
h ps://doi.o g/10.3897/biss.9.179170
Abs ac
Ci izen science (CS) e e s o he ac i e pa icipa ion o non-p o essional scien is s in
scien i ic esea ch, whe e hey con ibu e o da a collec ion, analysis, and p oblem-
sol ing (e.g. Jansen e al. (2024)). I has gained ac ion in ecen yea s as a means o
democ a ise science and enhance la ge-scale en i onmen al moni o ing, pa icula ly in
biodi e si y and ecosys em esea ch (Danielsen e al. 2024). The widesp ead use o
mobile phones, oge he wi h buil -in geoloca ion ea u es, has acili a ed he
de elopmen and use o mobile applica ions o CS (Hognogi e al. 2023). Howe e , hei
de elopmen and use equi e subs an ial e o , including he need o IT expe ise o
de elop and main ain he app, he in as uc u al cos s associa ed wi h da a collec ion
and managemen , p i a e in o ma ion secu i y, and he inc easing demand o gene a ing
Findable, Accessible, In e ope able and Reusable da a (Wilkinson e al. 2016). In his
con ex , Li eWa ch I aly (Ta allo e al. 2025) has de eloped a CS Pla o m* , a
comp ehensi e online esou ce designed o suppo e e y s age o a CS p ojec , om
p ojec de elopmen o da a collec ion and managemen . The CS Pla o m could help
o e come he cu en agmen a ion o CS ini ia i es in I aly by p o iding a uni ied
amewo k o managing and sha ing in o ma ion, enhancing unde s anding o key
‡ §,‡,| ‡ ‡,¶ ‡
‡,#,¶
1
© Ta allo A e al. This is an open access a icle dis ibu ed unde he e ms o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion License (CC BY
4.0), which pe mi s un es ic ed use, dis ibu ion, and ep oduc ion in any medium, p o ided he o iginal au ho and sou ce a e
c edi ed.
en i onmen al issues such as biodi e si y loss and he sp ead o alien species. I o e s
a ious unc ionali ies (Fig. 1):
• A knowledge hub dedica ed o undamen al knowledge abou CS, including i s
his o y, me hodologies, and key p inciples. Use s can access explana o y ex s
wi h bibliog aphic e e ences and a cu a ed collec ion o scien i ic publica ions
sea chable ia il e s.
•Bes p ac ices and u o ials o de eloping and managing CS p ojec s. This
sec ion leads use s h ough he essen ial s eps o p ojec o mula ion, communi y
engagemen , da a managemen , and communica ion. Each s ep includes case
s udies, ex e nal esou ces, and ideo u o ials.
• A sea chable eposi o y o aining ma e ials o help use s de elop skills in CS
me hodologies and p ojec managemen .
Figu e 1.
O e iew o he Ci izen Science Pla o m. The pla o m p o ides use s wi h access o a
knowledge hub, bes p ac ices, u o ials, aining esou ces, and a p ojec ca alogue in eg a ed
wi h a geopo al. Regis e ed use s can build p ojec -cus omised web applica ions o collec
obse a ions om ci izen scien is s, which a e hen alida ed and managed by p ojec
adminis a o s. Valida ed da a can be expo ed in CSV o ma complian wi h Li eWa ch I aly’s
da a in as uc u e and o he in e na ional ini ia i es. The igu e belongs o he au ho s, Ta allo,
Basse & Cozzoli e al. CC BY 4.0
2Ta allo A e al
• A ca alogue o CS p ojec s, isualised on an in e ac i e map. Use s can il e
p ojec s by opic, age g oup, language, coun y, o ganisa ion, and p ojec s a us.
Regis e ed use s can con ibu e by adding new o exis ing p ojec s.
• A oolki allowing use s o c ea e mini-websi es o showcase and dissemina e
in o ma ion and esul s om hei pa icipa o y p ojec s, as well as web
applica ions o da a collec ion by ci izens in a cus omisable manne o ee. The
use who c ea es a new p ojec on he pla o m becomes he p ojec
adminis a o
o hei own websi e and web applica ion. The p ojec adminis a o can se up a
cus omised obse a ion-based da a collec ion sys em ailo ed o hei speci ic
esea ch needs, such as he collec ion o audio iles, pic u es, nume ical da a,
e c., along wi h a cus omisable lis o me ada a. P ojec adminis a o s can access
and alida e all he use -submi ed da a and gene a e analy ical epo s di ec ly
om he web app. The da a a e downloadable in CSV o ma compa ible wi h he
Li eWa ch I aly Da a Po al. Fields a e desc ibed using con olled e minologies
such as Da win Co e so ha he da a a e also compa ible wi h in e na ional
ini ia i es (e.g., he Global Biodi e si y In o ma ion Facili y).
Al hough he CS Pla o m has been eleased ela i ely ecen ly and is ully ope a ional, i
has no ye been widely adop ed. Dissemina ion ac i i ies a e planned o encou age
b oade adop ion. The objec i e is no o compe e wi h well-es ablished pla o ms, bu
a he o p omo e he use o he CS Pla o m in o de o suppo a mo e uni o m and
coo dina ed app oach o ci izen-gene a ed biodi e si y da a in he I alian con ex . This
ision is suppo ed by he pla o m’s in eg a ion wi hin he wide Li eWa ch I aly
ecosys em (Ta allo e al. 2025). I s p ac ical impac has been demons a ed h ough i s
use in na ional p ojec s, such as he Hic Sun Lupi, which moni o s he wol popula ions in
he Apulia egion (I aly). Unde his amewo k, a dedica ed web app is cu en ly
suppo ing a CS ini ia i e o eco d wol obse a ions. Use s can upload a pho o o
con i m he sigh ing. The sys em au oma ically eco ds geog aphic coo dina es,
p omp ing he obse e o con i m o modi y hem. Op ional addi ional me ada a can also
be p o ided, such as whe he human in e ac ions occu ed, he numbe o wol es
obse ed, and he p esumed li e s age.
Fu u e de elopmen s will ocus on building a di ec in eg a ion o (me a)da a lows o he
Li eWa ch I aly Da a Po al and Me ada a Ca alogue.
Keywo ds
public engagemen , mobile applica ions, ecology
P esen ing au ho
And ea Ta allo
A New Pla o m o Build and Suppo Ci izen Science P ojec s in Biodi e si y 3
*1
P esen ed a
Li ing Da a 2025
G an i le
This wo k has been suppo ed by he PON-IR “Li eWa chPLUS” (CIR01_00028;
PIR01_00028) and Nex Gene a ion EU Mission 4 “Educa ion and Resea ch” –
Componen 2: “F om esea ch o business” – In es men 3.1: “Fund o he ealisa ion o
an in eg a ed sys em o esea ch and inno a ion in as uc u es” – P ojec IR0000032 –
ITINERIS – I alian In eg a ed En i onmen al Resea ch In as uc u es Sys em – CUP
B53C22002150006.
Con lic s o in e es
The au ho s ha e decla ed ha no compe ing in e es s exis .
Re e ences
• Danielsen F, Ali N, And ianand asana H, e al. (2024) In ol ing ci izens in moni o ing he
Kunming–Mon eal Global Biodi e si y F amewo k. Na u e Sus ainabili y 7 (12):
1730‑1739. h ps://doi.o g/10.1038/s41893-024-01447-y
• Hognogi G, Mel ze M, Alexand escu F, e al. (2023) The ole o ci izen science mobile
apps in acili a ing a con empo a y digi al ago a. Humani ies and Social Sciences
Communica ions 10 (1). h ps://doi.o g/10.1057/s41599-023-02358-7
• Jansen M, Beukes M, Weiland C, e al. (2024) Engaging Ci izen Scien is s in Biodi e si y
Moni o ing: Insigh s om he WildLIVE! P ojec . Ci izen Science: Theo y and P ac ice 9
(1). h ps://doi.o g/10.5334/cs p.665
• Ta allo A, Di Mu i C, Pulie i M, e al. (2025) Managing FAIR Resea ch P oduc s o
Biodi e si y and Ecosys ems Wi hin he Li eWa ch I aly In as uc u e. Communica ions
in Compu e and In o ma ion Science324‑337. h ps://doi.o g/
10.1007/978-3-032-06136-2_31
• Wilkinson M, Dumon ie M, Aalbe sbe g IJ, e al. (2016) The FAIR Guiding P inciples o
scien i ic da a managemen and s ewa dship. Scien i ic Da a 3 (1). h ps://doi.o g/10.1038/
sda a.2016.18
Endno es
h p://www.ci izenscience.li ewa chi aly.eu. Accessed on: 2025-11-19.
4Ta allo A e al
