Volunteers Recruitment, Retention, and Performance during the CSMON-LIFE (Citizen Science MONitoring) Project and 3 Years of Follow-Up

Stefano Martellos, Elena Pittao, Donatella Cesaroni, Alessio Mereu, Damiano Petruzzella, Manuela Pinzari, Valerio Sbordoni, Giuliano Tallone and Fabio Attorre
Additional contact information
Stefano Martellos: Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, 34127 Trieste, Italy
Elena Pittao: Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, 34127 Trieste, Italy
Donatella Cesaroni: Department of Biology, Tor Vergata University of Rome, 00133 Rome, Italy
Alessio Mereu: Divulgando S.R.L., 34135 Trieste, Italy
Damiano Petruzzella: CIHEAM Bari, 70010 Valenzano, Italy
Manuela Pinzari: Department of Biology, Tor Vergata University of Rome, 00133 Rome, Italy
Valerio Sbordoni: Department of Biology, Tor Vergata University of Rome, 00133 Rome, Italy
Giuliano Tallone: Agenzia Regionale del Turismo, Regione Lazio, 00185 Rome, Italy
Fabio Attorre: Centro Interuniversitario di Ricerca per la Biodiversità Vegetale Big Data-PLANT DATA, Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 19, 1-17

Abstract: Volunteers’ contribution to research is growing, especially since the beginning of the 21st century. Given the constant increase of Citizen Science initiatives, recruiting strategies have to be planned properly. Retention is pivotal as well, especially when time is invested in volunteers’ training. However, practically no follow-up data are available on retention after major Citizen Science initiatives. CSMON-LIFE (Citizen Science MONitoring) was a 42-month project (2014–2017) funded by the European Commission in the framework of the LIFE+ programme (LIFE13 ENV/IT/842). It aimed at increasing awareness on Citizen Science among citizens, researchers, and decision makers in Italy. During CSMON-LIFE, recruitment was based on extensive awareness raising actions on different media. In total, 5558 volunteers were engaged in different field activities during the project and its follow-up. They gathered a total of 30062 geo-referenced observations, each with an image of the reported organism. Their activities were organized in campaigns, each devoted to a different topic. This study aims at investigating volunteers’ performance and retention in the funded period of CSMON-LIFE (December 2014–November 2017) and in its after-LIFE follow-up period (December 2017–November 2020), for a total of 72 months.

Keywords: alien species; biodiversity data; field observation; participation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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