ECSA - European Citizen Science Association
ECSA is a Berlin-based non-profit membership association founded in 2013 that coordinates European citizen science by bringing together hundreds of researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and citizens through membership, the Ten Principles framework, biennial conferences, and the EU-Citizen.Science platform.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersBerlin, Germany
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What ECSA - European Citizen Science Association does
ECSA is a Berlin-based non-profit membership association founded in 2013 during EU Green Week that coordinates and advances citizen science across Europe. The organisation brings together researchers, practitioners, policymakers, science funders, NGOs, and citizens under a single umbrella, with membership open to both individuals and organisations spanning EU member states and beyond. ECSA is governed by a ten-member board elected for three-year terms and operates with a small paid staff based at its Berlin headquarters — generously hosted by the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin — while most activities are led by volunteers through thematic working groups on topics such as Storytelling and Air Quality.
ECSA's core outputs are the Ten Principles of Citizen Science framework (available in 30+ languages), the ECSA Characteristics of Citizen Science document, and the EU-Citizen.Science online platform that connects citizens to projects. Its biennial conferences function as the flagship European citizen science gathering, having grown from roughly 400 participants in Geneva (2018) to nearly 500 from 36 countries in Vienna (2024), with future editions scheduled for Oulu (2026) and Lisbon (2028). The association also runs a recurring webinar series covering topics including biodiversity, air quality, and AI in citizen science, and acts as a communications hub for the field.
ECSA funds its operations through individual and organisational membership fees, biennial conference registration fees (e.g., EUR 250 for members and EUR 350 for non-members in 2018), and — most materially — participation as a partner in EU Framework Programme research and coordination projects (Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe). As a founding member of the Citizen Science Global Partnership, ECSA links European citizen science to a broader international network and contributes to EU policy advocacy through policy briefs and the open science policy platform.
ECSA - European Citizen Science Association firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- ECSA - European Citizen Science Association
- Legal name
- European Citizen Science Association (ECSA)
- Website
- https://ecsa.ngo
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- ECSA is a Berlin-based non-profit membership association founded in 2013 that coordinates European citizen science by bringing together hundreds of researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and citizens through membership, the Ten Principles framework, biennial conferences, and the EU-Citizen.Science platform.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
ECSA - European Citizen Science Association industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Citizen Science Association Services
- NAICS
- Other Similar Organizations (except Business, Professional, Labor, and Political Organizations) (81399), Administration of Conservation Programs (92412)
- SIC
- Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- United Nations System & Specialized Agencies (BPADAAAA)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Environmental, Health & Safety / Sustainability (EHS, Environmental Compliance CE) (EDAAALAO)
Keywords
Where ECSA - European Citizen Science Association is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Berlin
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
ECSA - European Citizen Science Association business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Membership fees: ECSA operates as a membership association with both individual and organizational members paying membership fees.
- Conference fees: ECSA organizes biennial conferences with registration fees. ECSA 2018 pricing: EUR 250 for members, EUR 350 for non-members, EUR 200/300 for students.
- European research projects: ECSA participates in EU Framework Programme projects (Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe) as a partner, contributing to research and coordination activities.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | ECSA Conference 2018 - ECSA members |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | ECSA Conference 2018 - Non-ECSA members |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | ECSA Conference 2018 - Student ECSA members |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | ECSA Conference 2018 - Student non-ECSA members |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
ECSA - European Citizen Science Association product offering
Product offeringCore offering
ECSA is a non-profit membership association that coordinates citizen science projects across Europe, performs research on citizen science methodology, runs biennial international conferences and recurring webinars, maintains member-led thematic working groups, and publishes foundational frameworks such as the Ten Principles of Citizen Science and the Characteristics of Citizen Science. It also supports the EU-Citizen.Science platform to enable public participation in research processes across science, social science, humanities and the arts.
Product overview
ECSA (European Citizen Science Association) is a membership association rather than a commercial product company. Its offerings consist of foundational frameworks (Ten Principles of Citizen Science, Characteristics of Citizen Science), a European citizen science platform (EU-Citizen.Science), biennial international conferences, webinars on various citizen science topics, and thematic working groups organized by volunteers. The Ten Principles serve as the core guiding document, the ECS Platform provides the collaborative infrastructure, and the conferences and webinars serve as knowledge-sharing and community-building mechanisms.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- ECS Platform: Online platform for citizen science accessible at citizenscience.eu
- EU-Citizen.Science
Products and services
- ECSA Membership Programme Membership programme for individuals and organisations who want to engage with citizen science in Europe, with access to working groups, conferences, and the ECSA community.
- Ten Principles of Citizen Science A foundational framework document setting out ten key principles underlying good practice in citizen science, available in 30+ languages and used as a de facto standard across Europe.
- ECSA Characteristics of Citizen Science Methodology document that represents a wide range of opinions on citizen science in an inclusive way, allowing for different types of projects with context-specific criteria.
- EU-Citizen.Science platform Online platform for citizen science in Europe that lets members of the public and practitioners get involved in citizen science projects across the continent.
- ECSA Biennial Conferences Biennial international conferences bringing together researchers, practitioners, policymakers, science funders, NGOs and citizens to share experiences and knowledge in citizen science.
- ECSA Webinars Recurring online webinar events covering citizen science topics including biodiversity, storytelling, AI in citizen science and air quality, organised through ECSA's thematic working groups.
- ECSA Thematic Working Groups Member-led thematic working groups (e.g., Storytelling, Air Quality) that organise webinars, produce resources, and advance ECSA's activities on specific citizen science topics.
Companies that use ECSA - European Citizen Science Association
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
ECSA - European Citizen Science Association technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
ECSA - European Citizen Science Association partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and moderate.
- Museum für Naturkunde BerlincoreProvides headquarters facilities for ECSA in Berlin, supporting the association's operations and coordination activities.
- Citizen Science Global PartnershipcoreECSA is a founding member of this global network of citizen science organisations worldwide, working to connect and coordinate citizen science efforts globally.
- Horizon 2020 / Horizon EuropecoreECSA participates in European Framework Programme projects, contributing to research and coordination activities in citizen science across Europe.
- Foundation Science et CitémajorOrganised the ECSA 2018 Conference in Geneva together with University of Geneva.
- University of GenevamajorCo-organised the ECSA 2018 Conference with Foundation Science et Cité; provides local support team including Bruno Strasser and Elisa Radosta.
- National, regional and local citizen science associations in EuropemoderateECSA supports and interacts with growing number of national, regional and local associations and networks in Europe.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
ECSA - European Citizen Science Association competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Museum für Naturkunde Berlin: Houses ECSA's headquarters and supplies the Chair and Vice Chair; operates the Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science and runs major citizen science and biodiversity research programmes, making it a host-partner and operational comparator.
Emerging players
- Wilson Center: US think tank with active citizen science policy and convening programmes; overlaps ECSA's policy-advocacy and ecosystem-coordination role in a different geography.
Direct peers
- SciStarter: A major online citizen science platform connecting volunteers with projects; comparable to EU-Citizen.Science in function and audience, and a key global peer in citizen science infrastructure.
- Citizen Science Association (CSA): The principal US-based professional association for citizen science practitioners, with analogous membership structure, working groups, and conference cadence (Citizen Science Association Conference). Directly comparable to ECSA as the leading national/regional membership body for the field.
- Zooniverse: The largest online platform for crowdsourced research, hosting citizen science projects across disciplines; directly comparable to EU-Citizen.Science as participatory-research infrastructure.
- Citizen Science Global Partnership: The international coalition of which ECSA is a founding member; shares the mission of coordinating citizen science globally and represents ECSA's primary global peer network.
Others
- European Association for the Advancement of Computing and Philosophy (EA-CAP): While not a direct citizen science peer, it is a comparable European academic/professional association model — non-profit, member-driven, with annual governance cadence — useful as a structural comparator.
Regional players
- Australian Citizen Science Association: Australia's national citizen science association, with comparable membership model, conference series, and capacity-building activities; ECSA's closest non-European national counterpart.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
ECSA - European Citizen Science Association social profiles
Digital presenceECSA - European Citizen Science Association financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
ECSA - European Citizen Science Association leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
ECSA - European Citizen Science Association funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
ECSA - European Citizen Science Association M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about ECSA - European Citizen Science Association
What does ECSA - European Citizen Science Association do?
ECSA is a non-profit membership association that coordinates citizen science projects across Europe, performs research on citizen science methodology, runs biennial international conferences and recurring webinars, maintains member-led thematic working groups, and publishes foundational frameworks such as the Ten Principles of Citizen Science and the Characteristics of Citizen Science. It also supports the EU-Citizen.Science platform to enable public participation in research processes across science, social science, humanities and the arts.
Is ECSA - European Citizen Science Association a public or private company?
ECSA - European Citizen Science Association is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was ECSA - European Citizen Science Association founded?
ECSA - European Citizen Science Association was founded in 2013. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is ECSA - European Citizen Science Association based?
ECSA - European Citizen Science Association is headquartered in Berlin, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does ECSA - European Citizen Science Association make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Membership fees are the primary driver. The others are conference fees and european research projects.
Who are ECSA - European Citizen Science Association's main competitors?
Museum für Naturkunde Berlin is listed as a broad incumbent. Wilson Center is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are SciStarter, Citizen Science Association (CSA), Zooniverse and Citizen Science Global Partnership. European Association for the Advancement of Computing and Philosophy (EA-CAP) is listed as an others. Australian Citizen Science Association is listed as a regional player.
Does ECSA - European Citizen Science Association have an API?
No public API is recorded for ECSA - European Citizen Science Association.
What industry is ECSA - European Citizen Science Association in?
ECSA - European Citizen Science Association's product category is Citizen Science Association Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPADAAAA, United Nations System & Specialized Agencies, with a secondary code of EDAAALAO, Environmental, Health & Safety / Sustainability (EHS, Environmental Compliance CE). Its NAICS code is 81399 and its SIC code is 8600.