The IMPETUS Accelerator Explained

The Accelerator was a planned and structured programme to fund and support new and ongoing citizen science projects.

The programme included training activities, mentoring, and financial support for the Citizen Science Initiatives (CSIs), which focused on the set challenges aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the Green Deal Goals.

Successful applicants received €20,000 (to kick-start projects) or €10,000 (to sustain projects) to help them deliver a six- or seven-month citizen science project with the IMPETUS team.

The Accelerator Programme included:

  • Intensive training at the start of the accelerator on project design, citizen engagement, data management and preservation, impact assessment and sustainability;
  • Online mentoring during the pilot on a diverse set of citizen science challenges, including data quality, data preservation, GDPR, research ethics, motivating participation, citizen empowerment, EDI (equality, diversity, inclusion), public engagement, targeted science communication, data journalism, and impact;
  • Promotion via news on the IMPETUS website and on social media, as well as presenting opportunities at the IMPETUS conference and other related events.
  • Peer learning and networking are facilitated through workshops and online tools.
  • Peer-learning and networking, within and between pilot cohorts, through the IMPETUS Aperitives, creating bridges with external communities of interest.

Three accelerators were conducted between 2022 and 2026.

Cohort 1
Cohort 2
Cohort 3

The Bootcamp

The Bootcamp was an intensive online training at the beginning of the process that led to the official start of the Accelerator Programme. It covered a diverse range of topics, such as stakeholders’ engagement, data management, impact assessment, sustainability, and communications. This training allowed all CSIs to be at the same level, start their work as soon as possible, and get all CSIs together to establish common ground.

Training and Aperitifs

The Accelerator Training Sessions consisted of five 1.5-hour courses that addressed the needs expressed by the CSIs through a consultation process. These sessions were diverse and covered topics such as storytelling, addressing industry, and translating data into actionable plans.

The Accelerator Aperitives were peer-learning and networking sessions of 1,5 hours each with the wider CS community. Within each accelerator, two Aperitives were held during the seven-month programme.

Impact Assessment

Impact assessment was a key aspect of ensuring progress, validation of our methods and approaches, and providing evidence. Therefore, we developed a bespoke programme that can be viewed here!

IMPETUS Impact Assesment

The Mentor Panel

The Mentor Panel consisted of 17 external experts and 4 IMPETUS experts who worked with the CSIs’ mentees over seven months to support and guide them in developing their projects properly.  These one-to-one sessions provided advice on thematic matters related to each CSI.

Meet our mentors!

Margarita Angelidou

Urban Policy and Planning

I'd love to help citizen science projects advancing sustainable urban development!

Isabelle Bonhoure

Coordinator and Researcher

Let's keep Citizen Science growing and targeting social issues, from the perspective of the people that share them!

Ilídio André Costa

Teacher / Researcher / Citizen Science Project Manager

The science where it belongs

Carolina Dopico Gonzales

MEng, PhD, CEO, Sustainability Consultant

Mentoring citizen science initiatives within the IMPETUS project, integrating science and artistic expression in participatory processes

Louise Francis

Co-founder and Managing Director of Mapping for Change

Democratising the way in which science is done, with communities at the heart and socieltal challenges at the forefront

Jacqueline Goldin

Extra-ordinary Associate Professor of Anthropology and Water Sciences

Passionate about citizen science - taking science right out of libraries and laboratories into life

Yaela Golumbic

Science Communication Researcher

Citizen science makes science more accessible and relevant to peoples' day-to-day lives

Christiane Grill

Senior Program Manager Involvement at the Open Innovation in Science Center (Austria)

Actively involving citizens in science increases the quality of research and brings science and society closer together

Bruna Gumiero

River Ecologist, Adjunct Professor of Ecology at the University of Bologna

One of my challenges in the CS projects I coordinate will be to make CS results count more in sustainable land management decisions

Cristina Luis

Researcher

Dialogue, collaboration and engagement; three essential keywords in citizen science!

Inès Navalhas

Researcher

To know more about citizen science projects in Europe is a great opportunity. IMPETUS is the way!!

Rachel Paterman

Research Fellow

It is a way for everyone to understand the world around them.

Karen Soacha

Specialist in Knowledge management | Governance | Citizen science |

Collaborative efforts to expand citizen science are more than needed to address our challenging times. IMPETUS is a great way to do it!

Stefànie Schuerz

Sociology, Science and Technology Studies Researcher and Project Manager

We can only achieve profound transformative change through science if we build meaningful collaborations between science, policy and society.

Patrícia Tiago

Researcher in Citizen Science and Biodiversity Monitoring

Citizen science empowers ordinary individuals to join forces, unleashing the collective power to drive meaningful change and scientific discovery.

Savita Willmott

Chief Executive, The Natural History Consortium

I've been involved in citizen science for over 15 years and I'm still just as excited about the opportunities for international collaboration and new thinking in the field.

Sasha Woods

Researcher for Impact and Innovation

I'm excited to help make citizen-science projects more impactful!

Alex Albert

Alexandra Albert

IMPETUS Policy Engagement

Only through doing things together, via citizen science, can we tackle some of the biggest social issues we face today.

Antonella Passani

Antonella Passani

IMPETUS Impact Coordinator

Passionate about CS, provides support for assessing and maximizing positive impacts and increase its diversity of people, disciplines and topics.

Gefion Thuermer

Gefion Thuermer

IMPETUS Technical Coordinator

From observations to advocacy and action: that’s the beauty of citizen science!

Joana Magalhães

Joana Magalhães

Senior Researcher

Very happy to be involved in IMPETUS and support citizen science projects to leverage their dreams and ambitious for common good.