Recommendations for Citizen Science

This report, commissioned by Open Science NL and the Dutch Research Agenda (NWA) (both part of the Dutch Research Council NWO), is the result of a study into the preconditions for equal collaboration between citizen scientists and participatory researchers and makes concrete recommendations to NWO to facilitate this. This study was conducted by TwynstraGudde between September 2024 and September 2025. The results are based on three social lab meetings, a desk study, interviews with experts and a survey.
Recommendations include setting up a separate funding programme for bottom-up participatory research and long-term funding, investing in capacity building, and recognising and meeting the different needs of citizen scientists. In addition, concrete suggestions are made for implementing these recommendations: a clear vision, continuous learning, and evaluating the participatory approach.