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As part of the 17th Geneva Forum, this annual conference offers a high-level interactive workshop that will take place on Wednesday, December 10, 2025 from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. in Geneva, bringing together key stakeholders to discuss the potential for large-scale citizen alliances. This event is organized in partnership with the Geneva Forum and the NGO Objectif Sciences International.
Call for Contributions
We invite:
Researchers, evaluators, project leaders and coordinators,
Scientific institutions and citizen-led organisations,
Impact assessment professionals, including consultants and practitioners,
Funders and donors interested in SDG evaluation,
Experts in methodology, monitoring & evaluation, and indicators,
Practitioners of participatory or action-research,
to actively contribute to the discussion on how to assess the concrete effects of citizen science initiatives.
Submit your projects!
This call aims to gather feedback, methodological tools, case studies, and evaluation frameworks used to measure the impact of participatory science projects on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
You may submit:
Selected contributions will be presented during the conference (talks, workshops, panel discussions) and may lead to further cross-cutting dialogue, online publications, and potential collaborations.
- If you wish to propose a topic for the short presentations, please fill out the form below on this page.
- If you wish to view the workshop program, please visit the page of the Annual International Conference on Citizen Science, Participatory Research, Crowd-Innovation, and Fab Labs for Peace and Development.
Workshop Program
- From Monday morning to Tuesday morning: Welcome and badge collection for access to the rooms
- Tuesday afternoon: Introduction session
- Presentation of the cycle “Measuring the Impact of Citizen Science Projects” and of the participants
- Informal networking session among members of the “Citizen Science” community
- Workshop with the partner Fab Lab on impact measurement
- Preparation time for speakers and co-facilitators of the next day’s interactive session
- Wednesday morning: Poster session and networking with other participants of the Geneva Forum
- Wednesday afternoon: Interactive plenary session (same format as previous years)
- 14:00: Entry into the venue
- 14:30: Welcome
- 15:00: Introductory lectures (keynotes)
- 15:15: Cycle of short presentations (6 talks of 8 minutes) - see below
- 16:10: Statement of the question to be worked on
- 16:20: Work in sub-groups
- 17:25: Interactive roundtable (feedback session)
- 17:50: Closing remarks (Closing remarks)
- 18:00: End of the workshop
- Wednesday evening: Networking dinner between actors involved in Citizen Science and other participants of the Geneva Forum
- Thursday morning: In-depth sub-group workshop
- Collaborative exploration of the proposals raised during the previous day’s plenary session
- Formalization of concrete actions or collaboration perspectives
- Preparation of elements for the final statement or the future White Paper
Workshop Goals - Why Participate
Workshop Objectives
Better understand the actual impact of citizen science: share outcomes, evidence, doubts and indicators to make the effects of participatory projects more visible.
Bridge quantitative and qualitative approaches: identify best practices for rigorous yet inclusive evaluation methods.
Encourage a shared culture of participatory evaluation: co-develop frameworks that reflect the values and specificities of citizen-led projects.
Why Participate?
By contributing, you will benefit from:
Greater visibility for your tools and findings within an engaged international network.
A collaborative and critical reflection space dedicated to impact assessment.
New connections with partners, funders, or researchers who may support or enrich your work.
The opportunity to join a collective effort toward greater recognition of the value of participatory science.
This workshop is part of the Citizen Science Conference Series. For the 2025 edition, we propose a shift in perspective: not just showcasing what participatory projects do, but exploring what they actually produce in terms of effects, transformations, or learning.
Without claiming any prescriptive framework, we will explore diverse ways to qualify and quantify the impact of citizen science on the SDGs—combining hard data, field narratives, traditional and experimental evaluation tools.
By bringing together researchers, project coordinators, evaluators, and institutions, this session aims to lay the groundwork for a community of practice on impact assessment in citizen science.
Main Theme and Thematic Axes
- Central theme: How can we measure the impact of citizen science on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)? Evaluation challenges, adapted indicators, generated data, evidence of impact, institutional recognition, and co-designed methodologies.
- Scientific Rationale: Citizen science is increasingly mobilized to address global challenges: climate change, biodiversity, public health, food systems, pollution, governance… Yet institutional recognition remains inconsistent—mainly due to the lack of robust evaluation systems. Understanding what these projects actually change, for whom, how, and at what scale is becoming a strategic question. What evidence do they provide? What transformations do they measure? What are their methodological limits? This field is at once scientific, ethical, political and technical. It calls for collective intelligence to co-create impact frameworks that remain faithful to the spirit of participatory research.
Research Fields and Thematic Axes:
- Impact evaluation methodologies: What methods can assess the outcomes of participatory projects? How to combine quantitative, qualitative, and narrative data?
- Indicators for the SDGs: What tools, dashboards or frameworks connect citizen actions to specific SDG targets?
- Limits and critiques of evaluation: What are common pitfalls? What are the risks of over-measuring? What alternatives exist?
- Participatory evaluation: How can project participants be involved in the evaluation process? What co-evaluation practices exist?
- Institutional recognition and political impact: How can we make participatory science outcomes visible to decision-makers, funders, and partners?
- Innovation and hybrid methods: What emerging approaches (design, arts, open science, AI, etc.) can enrich participatory impact evaluation?
Priority Topics:
- Case studies of effective or innovative evaluations in participatory science projects.
- Decision-making tools based on data collected through citizen engagement.
- Feedback on SDG indicators adapted to local or community-based projects.
- Critical perspectives on participatory project evaluation (power dynamics, oversimplification, instrumentalisation…).
- Collaborative tools or hybrid formats (indicators + narratives + perceptions) to measure transformation.
- Evaluation systems embedded from the project’s inception.
Submission Guidelines
- Nature of Contributions: 5-minute oral presentation (with slide), sharing a case study or practical experience. This will be preceded by advance information to the audience and followed by an article published online.
- Submission Format: Title + abstract (max. 500 words), followed by an article (max. 3 pages including figures and tables; font: Calibri 11, single spacing, 2cm margins).
- Accepted Languages: French, English (simultaneous translation available).
- Submission Process: Via the online form below.
- Timeline:
- Deadline for abstract submission: November 20
- Acceptance notification: November 25
- Final article submission deadline: December 1
Submissions made after this date may be considered for the next session of the Forum. Please always submit without delay.
See the submission form below)->#submission_form]
Expected Outcomes and Deliverables
- Compilation of presentation proceedings and discussions,
- Online publication of an article by each presenter,
- Drafting of a general Position Paper at the end of the workshop,
- Contribution to the development of a White Paper, scheduled for early 2026,
- Initial sketches and pilot operations for citizen alliances.
Proposal Evaluation
- Evaluation Criteria: Proposals will be evaluated based on originality, relevance and potential impact, scientific rigor, and practical feasibility and applicability within the context of regenerative tourism.
- Selection Process: Proposals will be assessed by a multidisciplinary scientific committee based on peer review.
Practical Information
- Logistics: The Monday morning workshop will be held as part of the Geneva Forum, which takes place from December 8 to 12, 2025. In accordance with the Geneva Forum philosophy, online participation is possible but not prioritized.
- Registration and Memberships: To participate in the Geneva Conferences and Forums, please select the membership of your choice. See the different memberships here.
Once your membership is confirmed, you will receive all necessary logistical information, as well as the link to generate your event badge, a few days before.
| By subscribing to one of these memberships, you become a member for one year |
Contact Information
For any questions regarding the call for contributions, please feel free to contact the organizing team at: contact@geneva-forum.com
Submission Form
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