The systematic review published in August in Frontiers in Public Health, by researchers from the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis and WHO, assesses how citizen science could bolster monitoring of health and well‑being within the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the WHO Triple Billion Targets. The authors judge that citizen science can directly contribute to or complement monitoring for at least 48 of 58 health‑related indicators and could cover more than 80 per cent of those indicators. Overall, it could contribute to about a third of the 231 SDG indicators, with greatest potential in environment, health and well‑being.
Lead author Dilek Fraisl presents citizen science as a diverse set of approaches, from scientist‑led data collection to volunteer‑driven projects where participants help design questions, gather and evaluate data, and share results. Examples in the review include reporting biodiversity observations, collecting plastics from rivers and seas, and measuring water or air quality. The review underlines gaps in traditional sources: national surveys and routine surveillance can be costly, slow or incomplete. Fraisl notes that almost half of environmental SDG indicators lack data today, eight years into the SDG process.
The report gives a practical example from Ghana, where existing citizen science data on marine plastic litter were integrated into official monitoring and reporting for the SDG indicator on plastic debris density for 2016 to 2020, making Ghana the first country to do so. The authors also acknowledge limitations, such as recruiting and retaining participants and concerns about data quality, but argue that iterative project design and a growing literature show citizen science can produce reliable data. Muki Haklay of University College London says the study shows the potential of data generated outside official systems to address urgent problems.
Difficult words
- systematic review — Study that combines and assesses many studies.
- citizen science — Research where the public helps collect or analyse data.
- indicator — A measured value used to show progress.indicators
- surveillance — Continuous collection and analysis of health data.
- integrate — Combine data or information into an official system.integrated
- iterative — Repeated process that improves results each time.
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- What advantages does the article suggest citizen science offers for monitoring SDG and WHO indicators? Give examples from the text.
- The authors mention challenges like recruiting participants and data quality. How could iterative project design help address these problems?
- How might integrating citizen science data into official monitoring change a country’s reporting on environmental indicators?
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