Registration is now open to all interested citizens for growing season 2025 of the INCREASE Citizen Science Experiment

Over the last four years, the INCREASE project has not only seen an incredible interest from citizens in actively supporting its research. The Citizen Science Experiment has also been awarded the European Union Prize for Citizen Science in its quest to to foster agrobiodiversity by inviting European citizens to actively conserve and characterise diverse bean varieties.

To this end, more than 20,000 dedicated citizens from across Europe have so far participated in the INCREASE Citizen Science Experiment”. The participants grew many different bean varieties during the last four growing seasons, collected invaluable scientific insights on their beans and nurtured a wonderful community that wants to see and create an environment in which all humans can thrive – now and in the future.

The Citizen Science Experiment invites anyone who wants to contribute to science and who owns a smartphone and a field, garden, terrace or balcony, as well as the required enthusiasm to grow six different bean varieties of the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) during next year’s growth season.

As part of the Citizen Science Experiment, each new participant will receive seeds of diverse old bean varieties to grow and take care of while documenting their development through uploading photos and scoring traits in the INCREASE Citizen Science app, called “INCREASE CSA”. This enables the INCREASE team to evaluate the characteristics of these diverse varieties and eventually enhance agrobiodiversity in Europe.

The “INCREASE CSA” app is free to download from all digital platforms and available in different languages. Citizens can exclusively register their participation via the app and use it to document all observations during the growing period.

The Citizen Science Experiment is embedded into the European research project INCREASE which involves 25 international partners with the important goal to valorise agrobiodiversity and promote food legumes consumption and cultivation in Europe. The experiment is guided by the European Commission principles “open science, open innovation and open to the world” and INCREASE takes advantage of digital technologies to make science and innovation more collaborative and global.

INCREASE officially receives the European Union Prize for Citizen Science 2024 at the Ars Electronica Festival

It had been announced in June 2024 that INCREASE is the winner of the EU Prize for Citizen Science 2024. During the Ars Electronica Festival that took place in Linz, Austria from 4th – 8th of September, the INCREASE team has now had the great honour and pleasure to officially receive the highly anticipated prize.

The Ars Electronica Festival, held annually, stands as an international event where science, technology, art, and ecology converge. This year's festival, themed "HOPE: Who Will Turn the Tide?", invited people from around the world to engage in interactive experiences and explore innovative ideas. On 5th of September 2024, at the Design Center Linz, the festival's prestigious award ceremony took place, where 13 esteemed prizes were presented, including the EU Prize for Citizen Science.

The EU Prize for Citizens Science rewards “outstanding citizen science initiatives that enact change, expand knowledge, and address social, political, cultural, and environmental challenges through the involvement of citizens” (European Commission).

Over the last four years, the INCREASE project has been incredibly successful in engaging citizens in its Citizen Science Experiment, one of the central pillars of its research. The project aims to foster agrobiodiversity by inviting European citizens to actively conserve and characterise diverse bean varieties through a specially designed app. The dedication and engagement of people across Europe has been overwhelming with more than 16,000 dedicated citizens participating since its inception. And the journey continues.

Through the EU Prize for Citizen Science INCREASE has been acknowledged for its outstanding achievements in advancing knowledge on seed preservation through the empowerment of civil society and citizens, in particular from rural areas.

While the project promotes agrobiodiversity and raises awareness of nutrition and environmental sustainability issues, the INCREASE Coordiantor Prof. Roberto Papa highlights also its social impact: “The INCREASE Citizen Science Experiment receives a high interest from different groups such as schools and urban gardening communities and we are incredibly happy to see how our project is uniting people around a common cause”.

INCREASE was represented at the Ars Electronica festival with an interactive exhibition. The visitors were invited to characterise beans, giving them a chance to get a taste of participating in the Citizen Science Experiment. Registration for the next round of the experiment will open in November.