Making Citizen-Generated Data Work. Towards a Framework Strengthening Collaborations Between Citizens, Civil Society Organizations, and Others

Localizing the sustainable development goals in smart and sustainable cities: how can citizen-generated data support the local monitoring of SDGs? A case study of the Brussels Capital Region

“…Although essential and valuable, these traditional data sources exhibit several limitations (Ballerini and Bergh, 2021). Primarily are technical constraints, involving costly and time-consuming collection processes, along with limited spatial variation and coverage which results in infrequent data collection cycles, substantial data gaps, and unrepresentative samples that systematically exclude marginalized populations, such as vulnerable minorities, and sensitive issues (Lämmerhirt et al, 2016). Other often-mentioned constraints are related to the risk of manipulation by public officials to suppress contentious information, downplay their public institutions' challenges or artificially enhance their performances, and inadequacy of traditional data sources for capturing contextual information and local knowledge (Ballerini and Bergh, 2021).…”

“…Fritz et al (2019) divided them into 5 main categories: Earth Observations, spatial data infrastructure, official sensor networks, commercial data and citizen-generated data. This last category consitutes data voluntarily generated and gathered by individuals, herein referred to as "citizens," with the purpose to monitor, advocate for, or instigate change in matters directly affecting them (Lämmerhirt et al, 2016;Ballerini and Bergh, 2021). It includes a wide variety of approaches and methods, with citizens utilizing a diverse array of technologies and participatory methodologies such as community-based monitoring, crowdsourcing on online platforms, or digital sensors (Lämmerhirt et al, 2016;Ballerini and Bergh, 2021).…”

“…This last category consitutes data voluntarily generated and gathered by individuals, herein referred to as "citizens," with the purpose to monitor, advocate for, or instigate change in matters directly affecting them (Lämmerhirt et al, 2016;Ballerini and Bergh, 2021). It includes a wide variety of approaches and methods, with citizens utilizing a diverse array of technologies and participatory methodologies such as community-based monitoring, crowdsourcing on online platforms, or digital sensors (Lämmerhirt et al, 2016;Ballerini and Bergh, 2021). Typically, the production of citizen-generated data is initiated by citizens or civil society organizations and overseen by various intermediary entities, including non-governmental organizations (NGOs), academic researchers, private companies, and government agencies (Lämmerhirt et al, 2016).…”

“…It is worth noting that the existing literature lacks a universally accepted definition of citizen-generated data. Depending on the context, the term is frequently used interchangeably with concepts like citizen science data, community-driven data or participatory data (Lämmerhirt et al, 2016;Fritz et al, 2019;Ballerini and Bergh, 2021). Nonetheless, aligning with the perspective of Fritz et al (2019), we position citizen science data as an integral part of the broader concept of citizen-generated data, where individuals actively contribute data as part of a scientific research process (McKinley et al, 2017;Serrano et al, 2018;Phillips et al, 2021).…”

“…Traditional data sources, such as official statistics, are proving inadequate for SDG measurement, necessitating innovative approaches for data collection (United Nations, 2016). At the same time, a "data revolution" is unfolding, driven by technological advances that have exponentially increased the volume and variety of available data (IEAG, 2014;Lämmerhirt et al, 2016;Fritz et al, 2019). The digital revolution, characterized by the widespread accessibility of broadband internet, mobile tools (e.g., dedicated apps and smart devices), and big data analytics, has transformed the landscape of information sharing, collection, and processing.…”