scholarly journals Coordinator Perceptions When Assessing the Impact of Citizen Science towards Sustainable Development Goals

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 2377
Author(s):  
James Sprinks ◽  
Sasha Marie Woods ◽  
Stephen Parkinson ◽  
Uta Wehn ◽  
Hannah Joyce ◽  
...  

Tracking progress towards the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) requires high-quality, timely, and accessible data, often in areas where data are rarely available. Problems exist due to socioeconomic variations between countries and the qualitative nature of certain indicators in their definition. Citizen science has the potential to contribute to several SDGs. However, whilst citizen science’s potential to contribute towards SDGs is well documented, limitations exist when measuring the impact that citizen science has made toward SDG progress. To better understand the issues and prospective solutions surrounding impact assessment towards SDG progress, this work presents the outcomes of semi-structured interviews with citizen science project coordinators. They reveal the complex nature of impact assessment within a citizen science context. Coordinators demonstrate greater confidence when the project is easier to relate to the SDGs, and the project methodology can objectively measure indicators. Issues exist, however, when considering SDGs with a broader, global context, those more difficult to link to project goals and when the project’s impact on them happens at timescales beyond the funding period. If the full potential of citizen-science contributions to the SDGs is to be realised, approaches are needed to fully consider practitioners’ needs and motivations.

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 1735-1751 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dilek Fraisl ◽  
Jillian Campbell ◽  
Linda See ◽  
Uta Wehn ◽  
Jessica Wardlaw ◽  
...  

Abstract The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a vision for achieving a sustainable future. Reliable, timely, comprehensive, and consistent data are critical for measuring progress towards, and ultimately achieving, the SDGs. Data from citizen science represent one new source of data that could be used for SDG reporting and monitoring. However, information is still lacking regarding the current and potential contributions of citizen science to the SDG indicator framework. Through a systematic review of the metadata and work plans of the 244 SDG indicators, as well as the identification of past and ongoing citizen science initiatives that could directly or indirectly provide data for these indicators, this paper presents an overview of where citizen science is already contributing and could contribute data to the SDG indicator framework. The results demonstrate that citizen science is “already contributing” to the monitoring of 5 SDG indicators, and that citizen science “could contribute” to 76 indicators, which, together, equates to around 33%. Our analysis also shows that the greatest inputs from citizen science to the SDG framework relate to SDG 15 Life on Land, SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities, SDG 3 Good Health and Wellbeing, and SDG 6 Clean Water and Sanitation. Realizing the full potential of citizen science requires demonstrating its value in the global data ecosystem, building partnerships around citizen science data to accelerate SDG progress, and leveraging investments to enhance its use and impact.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 4283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel Ángel Queiruga-Dios ◽  
Emilia López-Iñesta ◽  
María Diez-Ojeda ◽  
María Consuelo Sáiz-Manzanares ◽  
José Benito Vázquez Dorrío

Curricular integration in formal teaching of citizen science can bring to the classroom aspects of scientific literacy that encourage the involvement of citizens. In particular, these include non-epistemic aspects related to the sociology of science (which are often not transferred to the classroom). Furthermore, this practice raises awareness among students, and encourages them to become participants in the attainment of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This article describes a proposal for the integration of a citizen science project into the secondary education curriculum that can be reproduced in any educational center. Eighty-three secondary school pupils (14–15 years old) took part in this research at a city-center school in Northern Spain. A questionnaire based on validated studies was created and used to analyze the changes in attitudes of pupils towards science and technology and their improvement in scientific literacy in terms of scientific processes and scientific situations. The results indicate a significant improvement in the attitudes towards science and technology among the participating learners, as well as a better understanding of scientific processes and situations. Likewise, the results reflect how the implementation of the citizen science project contributes to the SDGs.


GIS Business ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 194-212
Author(s):  
Urish Wynton Pillai Thomas ◽  
Dr. Syriac Nellikunnel Devasia ◽  
Dr Parameswaran Subrmanian ◽  
Dr Maria Josephine Williams ◽  
Dr Hanim Norza Baba

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of integrating Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) into International School Curriculum, and to adapt Education for Sustainable Development using Ajzen’s theory of planned behaviour, Roger’s diffusion of innovation theory and Stern’s value belief norm (VBN) theory to nurture a sustainable society. The study narrowed five development goals; Zero Hunger (SDG 2), Clean Water and Sanitation (SDG 6), Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG 11), Climate Change (SDG 13) and Life on Land (SDG 15) to evaluate the impact towards international school’s curriculum in order to nurture a sustainable society. Data was collected from 105 teachers from 5149 full time teachers in International Schools in Malaysia. The questionnaire focusses on indicators from Sustainable Development Goals and funnelled down to understand whether these indicators will impact the objective of these research, which is to nurture a sustainable society through integrating SDGs in International School Curriculum. The data was analyzed through SPSS application where correlation test were conducted and produce nonparametric correlation results in p<0.001 which indicate a very high significant of relationship between SDGs and sustainable society.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 7738
Author(s):  
Nicolás Gambetta ◽  
Fernando Azcárate-Llanes ◽  
Laura Sierra-García ◽  
María Antonia García-Benau

This study analyses the impact of Spanish financial institutions’ risk profile on their contribution to the 2030 Agenda. Financial institutions play a significant role in ensuring financial inclusion and sustainable economic growth and usually incorporate environmental and social considerations into their risk management systems. The results show that financial institutions with less capital risk, with lower management efficiency and with higher market risk usually make higher contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), according to their sustainability reports. The novel aspect of the present study is that it identifies the risk profile of financial institutions that incorporate sustainability into their business operations and measure the impact generated in the environment and in society. The study findings have important implications for shareholders, investors and analysts, according to the view that sustainability reporting is a vehicle that financial institutions use to express their commitment to the 2030 Agenda and to higher quality corporate reporting.


Author(s):  
Laura Ballerini ◽  
Sylvia I. Bergh

AbstractOfficial data are not sufficient for monitoring the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): they do not reach remote locations or marginalized populations and can be manipulated by governments. Citizen science data (CSD), defined as data that citizens voluntarily gather by employing a wide range of technologies and methodologies, could help to tackle these problems and ultimately improve SDG monitoring. However, the link between CSD and the SDGs is still understudied. This article aims to develop an empirical understanding of the CSD-SDG link by focusing on the perspective of projects which employ CSD. Specifically, the article presents primary and secondary qualitative data collected on 30 of these projects and an explorative comparative case study analysis. It finds that projects which use CSD recognize that the SDGs can provide a valuable framework and legitimacy, as well as attract funding, visibility, and partnerships. But, at the same time, the article reveals that these projects also encounter several barriers with respect to the SDGs: a widespread lack of knowledge of the goals, combined with frustration and political resistance towards the UN, may deter these projects from contributing their data to the SDG monitoring apparatus.


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
P Van Den Hazel

Abstract The Global Burden of Disease is the most comprehensive effort to date to measure epidemiological levels and trends worldwide. It is the product of a global research collaborative and quantifies the impact of hundreds of diseases, injuries, and risk factors in countries around the world. The publication published in The Lancet on September 12, 2017, namely the study, “Measuring progress and projecting attainment on the basis of past trends of the health-related Sustainable Development Goals in 188 countries: an analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016,” is the starting point to discuss the health-related SDG indicators as develop by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) and Global Burden of Disease collaborators. The projected increases in mortality are steep for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other chronic diseases. Non-communicable diseases are increasingly recognized as major causes of death and disability worldwide. The question is whether the targets in the SDGs are sufficiently addressing these increases. Or are demographic changes underlying the projected increases? Health related SDGs have been addressed in a tool made by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME). Results on air pollution, smoking, unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene are presented by current and projected data in an interactive tool.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 4247
Author(s):  
Elena Bulmer ◽  
Cristina del Prado-Higuera

The seventeenth Sustainable Development Goal of the United Nations, Partnerships for the Goals, aims to strengthen the means of the implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development. The successful implantation of the UN’s seventeenth Sustainable Development Goal will aid the execution and achievement of the other sixteen goals. This article explores the importance and viability of Sustainable Development Goal 17, using a case study based in Valencia, Spain. The study presents an illustrative stakeholder situation, where we see that there are conflicting interests among conservationists, fishermen, municipality representatives, and others. Data collection was done using desk-based research and semi-structured interviews. The interview process was performed between October 2018 and October 2019. In total, 21 different stakeholders were interviewed. For the data analyses, a stakeholder register, Power–Interest Matrices, and a stakeholder map were used, and, to complement the latter, narratives were developed. The different analyses showed that most project stakeholders supported the project, while there was really only one stakeholder, the fishermen themselves, who were reticent about participating. However, it was shown over time that, by developing a common vision with them, the fishermen came on board the project and collaborated with the scientists. Stakeholder engagement analyses are especially useful in the application of Sustainable Development Goals at the project level. Although this case study is specifically applicable to a marine conservation context, it may be extrapolated and applied to any other Sustainable Development Goals’ context.


Author(s):  
Н.П. РЕЗНИКОВА ◽  
Г.С. АРТЕМЬЕВА ◽  
Д.В. КАЛЮГА

Представлены основные направления для поиска путей улучшения рейтинга Российской Федерации в международных статистических сопоставлениях в сфере электросвязи/ИКТ с учетом необходимости гармонизации разнообразных направлений деятельности, связанных с оценкой влияния электросвязи/ИКТ на достижение Целей устойчивого развития, а также с появлением Нового индекса Международного союза электросвязи (МСЭ) взамен Индекса развития ИКТ(IDI). OThe main directions for finding ways to improve the rating of the Russian Federation in international statistical comparisons in the field of telecommunications/ICT are presented, taking into account the need to harmonize various activities related to assessing the impact of telecommunications/ICTs on achieving the sustainable development goals, as well as the advent of the new International Telecommunication Union Index instead of the ICT Development Index (IDI).


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