ECSA - European Citizen Science Association

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.

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

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

• Citizen science association
• Public engagement research
• Open science frameworks
• Science policy advocacy
• Community science networks

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Membership fees: ECSA operates as a membership association with both individual and organizational members paying membership fees.
2. 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.
3. 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

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core 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.

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and moderate.

• Museum für Naturkunde BerlincoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides headquarters facilities for ECSA in Berlin, supporting the association's operations and coordination activities.
• Citizen Science Global PartnershipcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerECSA 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 EuropecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerECSA participates in European Framework Programme projects, contributing to research and coordination activities in citizen science across Europe.
• Foundation Science et CitémajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganised the ECSA 2018 Conference in Geneva together with University of Geneva.
• University of GenevamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-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 EuropemoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerECSA 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

Broad 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

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/eucitsci

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about ECSA - European Citizen Science Association