Citizen science for monitoring the health and well-being related Sustainable Development Goals and the World Health Organization’s Triple Billion Targets

Achieving the health and well-being related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Triple Billion Targets depends on informed decisions that are based on concerted data collection and monitoring efforts. Even though data availability has been increasing in recent years, significant gaps still remain for routine surveillance to guide policies and actions. The COVID-19 crisis has shown that more and better data and strengthened health information systems are needed to inform timely decisions that save lives. Traditional sources of data such as nationally representative surveys are not adequate for addressing this challenge alone. Additionally, the funding required to measure all health and well-being related SDG indicators and Triple Billion Targets using only traditional sources of data is a challenge to achieving efficient, timely and reliable monitoring systems. Citizen science, public participation in scientific research and knowledge production, can contribute to addressing some of these data gaps efficiently and sustainably when designed well, and ultimately, could contribute to the achievement of the health and well-being related SDGs and Triple Billion Targets. Through a systematic review of health and well-being related indicators, as well as citizen science initiatives, this paper aims to explore the potential of citizen science for monitoring health and well-being and for mobilizing action toward the achievement of health and well-being related targets as outlined in the SDG framework and Triple Billion Targets. The results demonstrate that out of 58 health and well-being related indicators of the SDGs and Triple Billion Targets covered in this study, citizen science could potentially contribute to monitoring 48 of these indicators and their targets, mostly at a local and community level, which can then be upscaled at a national level with the projection to reach global level monitoring and implementation. To integrate citizen science with official health and well-being statistics, the main recommendation is to build trusted partnerships with key stakeholders including National Statistical Offices, governments, academia and the custodian agencies, which is mostly the WHO for these health and well-being related targets and indicators

Demonstrating the potential of Picture Pile as a citizen science tool for SDG monitoring

The SDGs are a universal agenda to address the world’s most pressing societal, environmental and economic challenges. The supply of timely, relevant and reliable data is essential in guiding policies and decisions for successful implementation of the SDGs. Yet official statistics cannot provide all of the data needed to populate the SDG indicator framework. Citizen science offers a novel solution and an untapped opportunity to complement traditional sources of data, such as household surveys, for monitoring progress towards the SDGs, while at the same time mobilizing action and raising awareness for their achievement. This paper presents the potential offered by one specific citizen science tool, Picture Pile, to complement and enhance official statistics to monitor several SDGs and targets. Designed to be a generic and flexible tool, Picture Pile is a web-based and mobile application for ingesting imagery from satellites, orthophotos, unmanned aerial vehicles or geotagged photographs that can then be rapidly classified by volunteers. The results show that Picture Pile could contribute to the monitoring of fifteen SDG indicators under goals 1, 2, 11, 13, 14 and 15 based on the Picture Pile campaigns undertaken to date. Picture Pile could also be modified to support other SDGs and indicators in the areas of ecosystem health, eutrophication and built-up areas, among others. In order to leverage this particular tool for SDG monitoring, its potential must be showcased through the development of use cases in collaboration with governments, NSOs and relevant custodian agencies. Additionally, mutual trust needs to be built among key stakeholders to agree on common goals that would facilitate the use of Picture Pile or other citizen science tools and data for SDG monitoring and impact

Citizen science data to track SDG progress: Low-hanging fruit for Governments and National Statistical Offices

Citizen science data (CSD) presents untapped opportunities to track progress towards the SDGs offering multiple advantages for Governments and National Statistical Offices (NSOs): help fill in data gaps for indicators where traditional data collection instruments, such as, household surveys or administrative registers may not be well suited or may not have the sufficient coverage, improve the granularity of data and sometimes timeliness, and offer an effective and cost-efficient means for NSOs to address data needs of policy-makers in the context of limited or falling resources. Many citizen science data initiatives and datasets exist already. Why then have NSOs not been using citizen science data to any large extent to date? To begin with, NSOs require a better understanding of how such data can be useful in their specific context and requirements, as well as understanding what exactly needs to be done to leverage it. Citizen science practitionners, for their part, need to better understand policy applications and know how to ensure that the generated data meets necessary quality standards. This Policy Brief aims to bring greater understanding to these issues by drawing on a research conducted as part of the EU-funded Crowd4SDG project with contributions from several international organizations and research centers. It shows how NSOs can give value to CSD benefitting official statistics, policy-making and citizen science communities and helping ensure that no one is left behind

On-orbit performance of the MIPS instrument

The Multiband Imaging Photometer for Spitzer (MIPS) provides long wavelength capability for the mission, in imaging bands at 24, 70, and 160 microns and measurements of spectral energy distributions between 52 and 100 microns at a spectral resolution of about 7%. By using true detector arrays in each band, it provides both critical sampling of the Spitzer point spread function and relatively large imaging fields of view, allowing for substantial advances in sensitivity, angular resolution, and efficiency of areal coverage compared with previous space far-infrared capabilities. The Si:As BIB 24 micron array has excellent photometric properties, and measurements with rms relative errors of 1% or better can be obtained. The two longer wavelength arrays use Ge:Ga detectors with poor photometric stability. However, the use of 1.) a scan mirror to modulate the signals rapidly on these arrays, 2.) a system of on-board stimulators used for a relative calibration approximately every two minutes, and 3.) specialized reduction software result in good photometry with these arrays also, with rms relative errors of less than 10%